Black and White Memories
by JapanDreamer09
Summary: Black lost his memories. His friends, his family, even his own name. Now he is on a mission to figure out who he is and more importantly, what happened. But the more he learns, the better it seems that he should choose to forget. Not all is black or white
1. The Warning

**Disclaimer: To own Pokemon… after four years… nahhhhhh**

OMG, you would not believe how I decided to write this story. I was sleeping quite nicely when BAM! I woke up and this story just pop into my head. All of sudden, the whole plot line started to form right in front of me. Of course, being the middle of the night, I wasn't really pleased to get this sudden inspiration. My body was screaming – "GO BACK TO BED!" And then my mind was screaming – "WRITE THIS FREAKING STORY!" This was huge war going on inside of my head.

It was a long night… And in the end, my conscious won.

Anyways, here I am, sleepy, typing this story, hoping that you people will read it and then tell my conscious that this story sucks so I can go back to sleep in peace. Lol. Jkjk.

Anyways, introductions before things get out of hand.

My username is **JapanDreamer**. Some of you may already know me as the author of my current works I'm working right now (which I'm abbreviating most of the titles right now) – **Pokemon DP, DP Reverse Time, Johto, and Shadows Within Fiore**. Yeah, it's a lot, but my conscious is a controlling freak. For those who already know me, you know the drill. For those who don't, read the next couple of paragraphs just so you know the basics of how I write and such. Sorry that this intro is long but I assure you, I don't usually write this much in the beginning.

I'm mostly a third person writer and my updates are completely random. Holidays are when I update fast and school… not so much. I LOVE reviews. They let me know that there are people out there who enjoy what I write or who want to help me improve on my writing. I even reply back to reviews if you have any questions. Basically, what I'm trying to say is… REVIEW!

Second thing is that I have an **Author Notes** in which where I will thank all the reviewers from the previous chapter. Of course for this chapter, I won't have any since this is the first. This is also where I will be asking questions – opinions, voting on my polls, etc. This will allow me to understand what is it that you guys like to see in my writing and help me write better. In my **Author Notes**, I also talk about news in the Pokemon world – anime, manga, games, etc. I might spoil some of that stuff so if I do, I apologize ahead of time.

Moving along. Now, for some who know from my previous comments in other stories that I have very iffy feelings of BW and I obviously didn't show interest (at first) to write a story about it. Sure the game looks cool and all but the Pokemon… Let's just say I haven't memorized the 100+ new names yet. Therefore, I don't know if I want to keep this story for now or not.

**EDIT:** Okay, because so many of you like this story, it will officially stay for now. Plus, I have revised this chapter with the English names. If I missed a name, let me know.

**EDIT:** I've gone through this chapter and revised some more stuff to make it more mysterious. No worries, it won't affect what happens later on.

All right, that's it from me. Enjoy the chapter!

**Prologue:**

Lightning flashed across the dark rumbling night sky. Rain was pounding hard against the trees like bullets and the leaves rustled quite loudly as though to make the spooky wind more chilling to the sound. The long grasses that grew wild here moved in a uniform manner, like waves rolling across the ocean. There was no one out here… well correction, there were only two people out here – one hunting for the other who was running for his life.

After the flash of lightning, the man took a deep breath and slowly counted.

_One Castelia… Two Castelia… Three Castelia…_

BOOM! Thunder immediately roared and shook the ground with its powerful vibrations. The man gritted his teeth from the sensation. The lightning was close but not too far, perhaps three miles if he was counting correctly. Unlike most people, the man was happy that the weather was wet and miserable. Well, for all of the wrong reasons of course.

"LET GO OF ME!" a voice cried out.

"_Bingo…_" The man thought, knowing that he had finally caught his prey. Carefully, the man walked quickly to the source of the screams. Drops of water splattered across his face and his wet shirt and pants cling to his skin. His sneakers were drenched and he could feel the cold wet rain soak through his socks but he didn't care. He had to finish this once and for all. Finally, past a clearing, the man finally encountered the person he had been hunting down in this forest.

"LET GO OF ME!" the boy yelled again. It was amazing how loud he could still scream and be heard despite the thunder and wind around him. However, his strength wasn't as strong as his voice for the boy was being held down quite firmly by the man's Pokemon.

_No_, the man stopped himself from thinking like that, _not his Pokemon, his friends… they were not his slaves…_ The man watched as the poor boy struggled against his_ friends_. Gurdurr, a fighting Pokemon that carried a steel bar with it, and Pidove who was on the boy's chest, ready to sink its claw into it. The boy was trying to struggle against the fighting Pokemon but the difference in strength was too great.

"What do you want from me?" The boy demanded when he saw the man. The man was impressed at the boy for his eyes did not contain fear but rather anger and perhaps annoyance. The boy still continued to struggle and said, "Get your Pokemon off of me! I told you before! I'm just a trainer! I'm traveling around the region! I don't know what you were talking about!"

_Of course you don't, _the man thought as the boy continued to yell as though he still have a huge pack of energy within him. It was taking all of Gurrdur's strength to keep the boy in check. _It hasn't happen yet._

The man closed his eyes as he remembered what the old woman had said – The Warning. She had told him that he will meet someone who will change the very course of his life.

She spoke in riddles.. but the picture she painted, it was coming together and this boy here is proof.

Of course, there was more to The Warning, but the man could still remember the words that depicted this scene. He slowly moved his mouth to the words, repeating what the old woman had said. This boy was dangerous. He was going to ruin all of his plans – plans for a better world. The answer was right there in front of him. He knew what he had to do... Yet… why is he still hesitating? Perhaps it is because fortune telling is never as clear cut as it seemed or perhaps a bit of… pity?

"YOU!" The boy continued to yell, bring the man back to reality, "Why do you think you're doing the right thing? You keep talking about thinking only for the good of Pokemon, but right now, you're doing a lousy job convincing me!"

That did it. The man's eyes immediately flashed dangerously. He slowly put his hand to his belt and took out something that was held there. The boy stopped struggling for a moment and stared wide eye as the man slowly enlarged and pulled the Poke ball out in front of him. It was as though seeing it was killing the man for his face was filled with pain. Then the man opened the Poke ball and a bright light appeared before showing a Purrlion.

However, this was not the average purple cat Pokemon that walks on all four legs. Instead, it was standing on its _hind legs_ – like a human being. It's pink eyelids gave its green feline eyes a mysterious appearance, and, as though it had been prepared to do this, it slowly walked up to the boy, who was muted by shock and was starting to have fear in his eyes. He was struggling harder now but it was useless as much as it had been before. Pidove immediately flew away to give room for Purrlion to step forward. Slowly, but carefully, Purrlionplaced its purple dagger-like tail on top of the boy's chest.

There was a moment of silence and the only sounds were the wind rustling through the tree branches and the splatter of large raindrops. The boy was breathing heavily now out of fear. It was in his eyes now. The man wouldn't kill him… would he? More silence… and then…

"Thunder Wave," the man whispered. Immediately, electricity filled the air.

"AHHHHHHH!" the boy yelled as the yellow crackling electricity attack went down the purple cat's tail and wrapped around his body like a thin rope. Gurdurr immediately let go of the boy as soon as the attack was issued. There was no need to hold the boy down now for he was unable to move due to pain. His arms were rigid and couldn't stop shaking as the electric current rush through them. Purrlion continued and increased the power of its attack.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The screams and yells were now drowned out by the thundering and rumbling sound from the clouds. The rain was pouring down hard now and the wind carried his voice far away. No one could hear him. No one except the man before him…

"I won't kill you," the man said softly as though he knew what was going through the boy's mind right before Purrlion's attack. But the boy didn't hear him as he continued to scream in pain. Strange how the man was feeling remorse now when just before, the young boy's words made him furious.

_Suffering this much,_ the man thought sadly, _The boy probably won't be able to function anymore._ Suddenly the boy stopped in mid-scream.

Finally, it was quiet. Thunder still rumbled across the sky but now the screaming has stop. His eyes which had been widened in pain now became dull and blank as though he lost conscious. The boy's arms were now limp and fell to his side. Purrlion withdrew its tail from the boy's chest immediately and waited. No more sounds came from the boy's mouth except the small gasps of breath. The man saw that the boy's chest was moving up and down, but barely. He might live, he might not. The man grabbed his cap and pushed it down to cover his eyes, as though he couldn't bear to see what he had just done to the boy. Still, without hesitation, he turned and left. Behind him, his Purrlion followed.

"But I won't save you either."

**Author's Notes**

**DUN, DUN, DUN!**

Who is this mysterious man and who is this boy that we don't know if he is dead or alive?

By the way, anybody know a good Pokemon word that can replace the word 'Mississippi'?

**EDIT:** Thanks **littlmidget123** for finding the word Castelia to replace. :D

**EDIT:** I would like to thank my reviewers who gave me encouraging and suggestions for this story. Because of them, this story is here to stay! I will work hard to improve in writing.

That's it from me! Enjoy the next chapter!

**-JapanDreamer**


	2. Who Am I?

**Disclaimer: No Pokemon is used at all in this chapter. XP**

Hey guys! The next chapter is here! :D

This was probably one of the hardest chapters to write simply because I written it in a different point of view. Still, it was interesting experience.

I noticed from the reviews from the first chapter that many of you who suggested that I should wait for the English names to come out. After some thinking, I think that is a pretty good idea. Considering I'm having a super hard time writing these names. Therefore, after this chapter, this story will be on hiatus for a while. I think I'll add one more chapter but don't get your hopes too high.

Now, there are two options here. One, I delete this story and wait until the game information comes out in English and then repost this story with the right names. Or two, I leave this story up and once the English version (aka. In about two months) comes out, I'll just revise the names. Give me some ideas if you have any better ones.

Okay, enjoy the final chapter before the hiatus! I put in a lot of effort into writing this and hopefully my grammar is better.

**Chapter 1:**

When he first awoke, the first thing he saw was the white ceiling above him. He blinked several times until the fogginess in his mind started to clear. He was lying down and quite comfortably and soft feather-like white sheets covering him. Strange… where was he? He thought for a moment and came up with nothing. Even more strange, his mind felt kind of blank, like a clean and empty chalkboard… perhaps he slept too well. Taking a side glance around him, he noticed that he was lying on a small bed.

Struggling to get up, he felt a jolt of pain from his stomach like a sharp knife. He winced and immediately grabbed his stomach with his hand to try and stop the throbbing pain. That was when he felt the bandages. Puzzled, he looked down. Sure enough, white bandages were wrapped tightly around his chest. He blinked several times. How did that happen?

He looked around the room and saw that despite its small size, it was rather comfy. Of course, several cardboard boxes were piled against the wall as though this place hasn't been used for a while and was hastily cleared away. The white pale walls reflected sunlight that was coming from the window on the opposite wall of the bed. At the other end of the bed, where his feet were, was a rather large and worn wooden dresser leaning against the wall. On the top of the dresser, a large mirror hung on the wall. The air was cold as though morning had just arrived and it may be his imagination but he could smell fresh leaves and morning dew.

Once again, the pain in his stomach started and he winced. _Ouch,_ he thought as he endured the sharp stab inside him, _what happened to me? _He tried to recall anything but once again nothing came up. He paused a moment, feeling perplexed. Was his mind really going that slow? Carefully, he moved his legs over to the side of the bed. That was when he noticed that he was wearing long and tight black cargo pants. Strange, was this his clothes? Or someone else's? He didn't recognize them.

His feet sent up cold waves to his spine as they touched the cold wooden floor. Shivering, he slowly got up and carefully walked toward the dresser. The pain in his stomach got worse and more frequent. The effort to just walk took a lot more out of him than he would've thought and had use both hands to grab onto the dresser in order to bend over to take deep breaths and relax. Once he was sure that the pain has lessened within his body, he lifted his head and found himself face to face with the mirror.

He flinched in shock and would have yelled had he not been afraid to create more pain in his stomach. The mirror was showing a person he couldn't recognize. The boy looked about fourteen and was athletically built for running. Of course, the boy looked weak now. He noticed that the boy had short brown hair that seemed to be messy and slightly curly at the tips. The boy was pale, extremely pale, and his muddy brown eyes were filled with tiredness. He, too, had thick bandages wrapped around his chest.

Who was this boy? How did he get here? Why was he-?

Wait a minute… He took a deep breath, calmed down for a second and stared back at the person in the mirror. When he had flinched earlier… the person flinched as well…

He blinked. So did the person in front of him. _At the same time_. He blinked again. Again, same thing.

_No… no way…_

He lifted his left arm and the mirror showed the boy copying him. Slowly, he touched his left cheek which was cold to feel. The other person copied his exact movement… _No, not the other person_… His reflection… _His reflection_ copied his exact movement.

But… but why didn't he recognize his own reflection? Had he forgotten what he looked like since the last time he looked at himself in the-? Wait a minute, when was the last time? He stared at his reflection intently as he tried to recall the last thing he did before he woke up.

Nothing… No, that's impossible, he had to remember something. Anything! His home, his friends, his family, HIS NAME! Surely, he could at least remember his own name! He saw that his reflection was panicking and the look of fear was in its eyes. This is not possible.

He can't remember anything! He can't remember anything! He can't-!

"Hello? Are you awake?" He flinched at the sound of the voice and spun around, almost slipping. His elbows banged against the dresser and he had to grab it to hold support. His heart was pounding hard against his chest. Right across from him, the door had opened slightly and an elderly and rather short woman in her mid-fifties poked her head in. Her white and gray hair was brushed and tied into a neat bun on top of her head. She had a wrinkly face but her soft smile had nothing but kindness in it. "Ah, so you're awake. I was getting worried about you."

He blinked several times, wondering if he was hallucinating. His facial expression must have been funny for she laughed kindly towards him. At the sound of her laughter, he could feel his heart beating back to a normal pace. However, he still clenched his hands tightly onto the dresser.

"My husband found you out in the forest about two days ago after that storm hit," the kind woman explained, "We were worried since you were unconscious and had to bring you back here. You were in pretty bad shape." The old woman opened the door completely and he saw that she was carrying a tray consisting of a bowl of hot soup, a slice of white bread, and a glass of water. The sight of the food immediately made him realize how hungry he was and could feel his stomach rumbling.

"Ah, so he's awake?" another voice came from the back and right behind the old lady was an old man who was obviously her husband. He was almost bald and the little hair he had left was completely white. However, he had a friendly smile and gave him a cheery wave. "Good morning lad. Sorry for the mess here. We usually live by ourselves and don't have guests too often." The old man seemed nice enough as well and they don't seem like they'll cause any harm. He immediately relaxed his grip on the wooden dresser but was unable to think of anything to say.

"T-thank you," he stammered finally and was surprised at his own voice. It was full of energy and surprisingly loud, not what he expected at all. Especially what he had been through… He slowly placed his hand onto his throat and his eyes looked as though to say – _Is this my voice?_

The old man chuckled. "You look pretty good for someone who had been unconscious for the past two days. You've barely eaten too. Are you always this active?"

"I-I don't know," he said truthfully. Once again, the fear of not remembering started to creep up again.

"Anyways, my wife will bring in your clothes if you want," the old man continued on and paused for a second before asking another and more important question, "If you don't mind me asking lad, but what is your name?"

He was expecting this question sometime soon and was hoping, praying, that when asked, his mind would be able to immediately to respond. Come on, there the question asked. Answer it. However, nothing came up. _Nothing_.

"I-I," he found himself all choked up. The fear was coming back and it was getting stronger…

"Calm down boy," the old man said, looking worried now, "You should go back and rest now. There is no need to get sick again." The old lady quickly put the tray down on top of one of the cardboard boxes and was about to help him up. But then, everything he felt inside came out. His fears, his confusion, his pleading for help...

"I don't remember anything," he said and continued to speak as though his lack of memories was torturing him, "I don't know what happened to me before I got here, I don't know where I live, I don't… I don't even remember my own name." He stopped and felt himself choking from tears. He sank to the ground and tried to cover his tears with his hands.

"Tell me," he said once he managed to speak again. The fear in his voice was spreading the entire room, making it feel less cheerful. The couple before him was also starting to have frightened looks on their faces.

"Please tell me, who am I?"

**Author's Notes**

I am never, ever, going to try writing like that again. NEVER. It was so hard to try and write it from a sort of 1st person point of view. XO

Please review! I would like to know what you think of the story so far. It would help me a bit.

Remember my poll! It is up right now and I would love some statistics. I don't even know who votes so you still remain anonymous. If you haven't notice, I have four stories going on right now. If I add this story then that'll be five and I have no idea if I can keep up with it. If you guys really want this story to continue then I might put one of the other stories on hold. Let me know if this has enough potential to keep going.

Let's thank my reviewers before I go.

…

**littlmidget123**

**Farla**

**N the puppet**

**Ketchum Kid **(Yeah, I've decided to wait for the English name. Thanks for your input.)

**DL of the Sith** (Hmm, well, whoever that guy is, he is definitely going to come back. Lol. Thanks for the review.)

…

Okay, see you in a while and remember to vote along with review!

**-JapanDreamer**


	3. Cheren's and Bianca's Day

**Disclaimer: No Pokemon is owned by the author.**

Well what do you know, the hiatus is over! We are now officially going to have chapters in a uniform manner. That is if you guys vote in my new poll. What am I talking about? Well, I've decided that I'm writing too many stories so I'll be putting one of the stories on hold while I focus on the others. That's right. I'm deciding to put one of my stories on hiatus. If you don't want this story to end up back in hiatus, then vote now!

Now on to more positive stuff. Black and White versions are almost available here in English! Good news about Unova is that since it is based on New York, I can focus on more English culture. Yay! :D

This chapter is filler but it is here to present other characters. I was going to go ahead to the main plot but then I figured this would be better. For some reason, I have trouble writing this chapter. Perhaps, I'm losing my touch…

I would like to introduce to you new characters – Cheren and Bianca. We're going to learn so much about them! Lol.

Oh and I have very important news in my **Author Notes**. Please check it out.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 2:**

_A couple of weeks later…_

In Nuvema Town, it was peaceful as the sun started to rise from the horizon. Pidove were chirping outside as though to celebrate another glorious day. The green forest surrounded the town like a barrier and two stories houses dotted the area. To the west was the port that stretched out into the ocean which explained the fine breeze of air that filled the town on this morning.

Cheren woke up and winced as the rays from the small opening of his curtains hit his eyes. After turning his head to the side, he removed his navy blue blanket off of him and sat up. Even though he was wide awake now, all he saw were the fuzzy outlines of his room. He groaned as he reached over to his bedside and clumsily tried to find his glasses on his nightstand. They were frameless with a red color bridge. Once he put them on, he yawned as he slid out of bed and walked over to open the curtains completely, allowing sunlight into the room. Opening the window, he sniffed the fresh air outside and saw that on top of the hills in the back, the windmills rotating their white blades around and around like giant pinwheels. A gentle breeze past by, feeling cool to Cheren's skin. He saw a flock of Pidove and the sound of beating wings pass by.

Just another day here… Still, Cheren knew he won't see this view anymore for tomorrow, he would be leaving. Tomorrow was the day that he will start on his own Pokemon quest to become the Champion. At the age of fourteen, he would've started immediately on his birthday but he decided to wait in order to obtain the legendary Pokedex and a starter Pokemon. It was an honor given to only three to be bestowed upon by one of their own residents, Professor Juniper who specialized in Pokemon's origin. The professor decided to have a test to pick three young trainers who will obtain a Pokedex and in return, have bring back the data on Pokemon they have encountered.

When Professor Juniper had announced this contest, Cheren knew immediately that he wanted to be one of the three chosen ones. He remembered working hard to ace the written essay he had to write to be accepted as a nominee. After that it was another test to see how accomplished he was in Pokemon battling. He passed with flying colors. Cheren remembered receiving the letter, congratulating him for winning of the three spots. What's more exciting was that the other two who won as well were his childhood friends. All of them from Nuvema won. Although, Cheren had to admit, he was surprised that they made it in seeing how both of them were at the bottom when it came to grades. Still, it was something to look forward to when he, along with two others, will see Professor Juniper tomorrow to start their journey.

Actually, only two people will be presented there tomorrow, Cheren reminded himself. After all, one of his friends decided to run off already without listening to the professor. Cheren remembered that day when Professor Juniper gave out the Pokedex for them to let them see how it worked but they had to promise to return it back the next day. Of course, _that_ stupid guy thought it meant that he could leave and ran off the next day. Cheren remembered groaning at the inanity of his friend as the professor almost blew up rage when he told her what had happened.

"_That Pokedex is not a toy! The next time I see that guy, I'm going to make sure I feed him to a tank load of Krokorok!"_ Cheren prayed that it wouldn't resort to that.

Deciding the make the most of his last day here at home, Cheren decided to start with a morning walk as soon as possible. He quickly went to the bathroom to get ready. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he stared at his reflection in the mirror, observing every angle of his face. At the age of fourteen, he wasn't too bad looking in his opinion. Of course, he was a bit on the nerdy side (as his friend kindly put it) but his sophisticated manners made him well respected by not just his peers but also adults. Cheren brushed his jet black hair carefully until not a single strand was out of place except for that one that he could not seem to flatten no matter how hard he tried. He changed into a v-neck white baseball shirt with a red lining in the front that made it look like a 'Y' was painted in the front. He then put on a blue stylish blazer jacket with white collar over the shirt and wore black pants with a belt. Satisfied, he left the bathroom and down the stairs. Several portraits of his ancestors and relatives hung along the wall. Most of them had the same calculating navy blue eyes Cheren had.

When he arrived to the brightly lit kitchen, he saw his mother already cooking breakfast. She was a quiet woman who only spoke when necessary and when she did, it was hardly more than a whisper. His father was sitting at the table and though you couldn't see his face at the moment for it was hidden by the newspaper, his son resembled him the most. He too was a quiet man but Cheren knew that his father's few words were enough to make anyone cowered away, especially when he was mad. As Cheren sat down across from his father, he noticed that the headlines in the paper were about the storm power outages that a couple cities in the north were facing recently. Cheren frowned as he drank his glass of milk. He didn't care too much what happened in the cities, but if that guy who took off was there… well; Cheren had to admit that he was still a bit uneasy. After his friend left like that, nobody was able to contact him. Even though the annoying guy was forgetful, he should have remembered to call by now.

"Good morning Cheren," Cheren's mom said as she placed toast and a bowl of rice on the empty plate. There was a grunt from behind the papers and Cheren knew that it was his father's way to greet when he was too busy with something else – in this case it was reading the newspaper. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Yes," Cheren said after a bite of his toast. "I've already prepared everything that I would need to travel. Its upstairs in my bag." Like always, Cheren was at the top of things. Of the three of his childhood friends, Cheren was probably the most responsible one which was probably why his friends' parents always made sure that Cheren was in group. The two were noisy, irresponsible, and were the reason why Cheren pulled his hair every day, yet they were still a lot of fun to hang out with. It was a nice change of pace when you're the only child in a quiet family.

"That's my boy," Cheren's dad said, speaking up for the first time. Then fell silent again as he flipped to another page in his newspaper.

"Really dad, is that all you can say?" Cheren thought to himself, watching his father's silent behavior but as usual, no response. The entire family sat in silence as breakfast continued. This was how Cheren's family ran. No point in talking if there wasn't anything important to talk about. Maybe that's why Cheren always found himself in the midst of his troublemaking friends. Someone to talk to, no matter what the topic was, made things less lonely. Just as Cheren was about halfway through the meal, there was a sudden pounding noise and caused the boy to almost choke from surprise. Both of his parents looked uneasy at each other since they weren't use to unexpected ruckus. Who was up this early in the morning?

"Cheren!" a voice yelled from behind the wooden door. The boy immediately recognized the voice that was calling his name. "Come on! It's me! I need your help!"

"It's open," Cheren called out and gulped down the last bit of his breakfast before rushing to the front door. "I'm going to go now. Bye mom, bye dad." There was merely a grunt from his father and a quiet "Be careful" from his mother as Cheren rushed out of the kitchen room.

"Cheren!" Cheren came to the front door just in time to see a short blond hair girl come crashing head first in front of the boy's door step. "Owwww… that hurts…" the girl said in a muffled voice.

"Bianca, how many I times I've told you to watch out for the small door stop? Honestly, most people wouldn't even trip such small ledge in the first place." Cheren said, sighing. The girl quickly scrambled up and adjusted her green beret with both of her hands. She had on a white puffy sleeve dress and orange vest that were covered in dust and dirt from the fall. She had orange stockings and yellow worn out flats.

"Sorry," Bianca smiled, her cute small buckteeth and dimples on her cheek were showing, "I'm clumsy." Bianca was one of the two of Cheren's childhood friend. Surprisingly, she was chosen by Professor Juniper to become a Pokedex holder. How she made it past the preliminaries Cheren had no idea. The girl even forgot what her name was when she took tests and spent a good forty minutes trying to remember it. Although she isn't reliable and quite a bit of an airhead, she had a sweet and bubbly personality. She had a chubby face that made her look younger than fourteen. "Anyways, why does it matter?"

"Well, you need to be less clumsy." Cheren said as he put on his blue loafers. "How else are you going to convince your dad to let you become a Pokemon trainer?"

"Umm," Bianca pouted for a moment before saying timidly. "By not tell him and sending a letter instead?" Cheren groaned.

"You didn't tell him yet? You do realize that when he finds out (and believe me, he will find out), he will be "asking" _me_ as to why I didn't notify him that his daughter was going off. I'm still deaf in my right ear from the last "man-to-man" talk we had."

"He doesn't have to know," Bianca said quickly, shushing Cheren in case his parents were listening in. She grabbed Cheren by the arm and dragged him out of his house to avoid suspicion. "I would have told him if he wasn't so adamant in not letting me go in the first place."

"It is a miracle that you managed to keep this entire thing a whole secret," Cheren muttered, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "Anyways, what is it that you need my help? And I can walk on my own you know." Cheren added as Bianca continued to pull him down the road.

"Well, you see… we're getting ready to leave tomorrow and I kind of need your help," Bianca said slowly.

"You want me to help sneak you around so your dad doesn't know what is going on?" Cheren said, getting to the point. "Seriously, I don't want to get in between you and your father." Cheren shook his head in disbelief.

"Pluezzz," Bianca said, looking up with puppy eyes. "You're the smart one and I want to be prepared and show my dad that I am ready." Cheren groaned. Curses that girls' sad faces make it hard for any guy to say no. "Are you not going to help me?"

"Fineeee," Cheren said, giving up. Bianca perked up and started to clap with joy. "Okay, first off, what have you packed so far?"

"Well I… Well, there's…" Bianca scratched her blond hair in puzzlement as Cheren face palmed his forehead. "Actually… well, umm…"

"Never mind," Cheren interrupted, knowing that this will take forever, "we'll just go to your house and figure things out."

"Okay!" Bianca said grinning and skipped down the road without a care in the world. Personally, Cheren thought as he watched the ditzy girl, he would have to agree with Bianca's father on this. The girl wasn't prepared to go out in the world yet. She couldn't even pack by herself. Aren't girls supposed to be more interested in this kind of thing more than guys? You don't see guys carrying ten luggage of clothes and five for beauty products.

The morning was still cool despite the sun. All of the two stories houses were lined up in a uniform manner. Each house has a front yard and walkway to the front door and in the back, a large garden. However, the houses were all decorated differently. Some had vines creeping all around the wall. Others had small flowers growing in a pot close to the window sills. Cheren noticed that most of the neighbors are starting to wake up as well. Since it was the weekend, most people were taking it slowly. Windows were being opened to let the fresh air in and several people were tending to their gardens. A couple of them were already doing their morning walk and greeted Cheren and Bianca as they passed by.

Bianca waved from the front of her house (thank goodness she remembered which one was hers) and ushered Cheren in. He could hear the T.V. blaring from the living room and the sound of cooking in the kitchen.

"Bianca? Is that you? Breakfast is almost ready," A chubby woman's head poked out from the kitchen. There were curlers in her blonde hair and she was wearing a pink bathrobe. "Oh hi, Cheren. Good morning! Would you like something to eat? I've made pancakes. There are blueberries and chocolate chip but if you want, I can make some plain ones." The woman said brightly when she spotted the embarrass boy.

"Good morning to you too and no thank you. I've just eaten," Cheren said in his most polite voice.

"Mom, is dad watching T.V.?" Bianca asked, pointing to the living room.

"Yes," Bianca's mom whispered quietly now, "He's in a grumpy mood today since breakfast is late. You know how men are." She, acting like a five year old now, stuck out her tongue toward the living room.

Okay good," Bianca said sounding serious now and grabbed Cheren's arm before he could respond. "Mom, Cheren and I are going to hang out upstairs."

"Okay," Bianca's mom said brightly and went back into the kitchen.

"Wha-? What are you doing?" Cheren said as Bianca dragged him up the stairs. He wiggled out of her grasp. "Bianca!"

"Look, dad is downstairs so this is the perfect time. He would be suspicious if he knew you were here," Bianca said and looked curiously for Cheren's face had a horrified look on it. "What's wrong?"

"I'm a guy and you're a girl," Cheren said, looking away and slowly backing back to the stairs.

"Yes, I'm not that hopeless, thank you very much," Bianca said. "Get to the point."

"You're asking a guy to come into your room!" Cheren said, blushing red in embarrassment. There was a strange silence before Bianca snorted with laughter.

"O _come on_," Bianca said rolling her eyes. "It's not like you never went into my room before."

"We were five back then," Cheren sputtered, "Those were simpler times."

"Well, things are not going to get any simpler if my dad comes up and sees you here. Now come on." She pushed the stubborn guy as he slid across the wooden floor and toward the brown door with a white sign that read "Bianca's Room" in green cursive words.

"I am not going to help you with your clothes," Cheren said warningly as Bianca pushed him in. Unsurprisingly, the room was very cute – baby cute. Stuffed Pokedolls were lined up on top of white shelves filled with baby books. Childish drawings scribbled on white paper were taped on the pink walls with little hearts wallpaper. Bianca's green and orange colored clothes clashed horribly with the pink color walls. The only thing in the room that suggested a fourteen year old girl lived in it was the large frilly bed in the middle. "Let me guess, you're dad still refused to fix your room." Cheren stood by the door, not wanting to walk in any further even though the room looked almost exactly the same as it did when he was five.

"Yeah… Part of the reason why I'm so determined to leave," Bianca said, sticking her tongue out at the place as though it sicken her. She went over to her nightstand and grabbed the green shoulder bag on it before rummaging through. "I want to show my father I can take care of myself and I'm not a baby anymore." Cheren watched sympathetically at Bianca as she miserably cleaned it out. "Ooo, look! My cherry lip gloss! I've been looking for that everywhere! I wonder what else is in here…" Bianca's face immediately brightened up as she took the small dusty item out of her bag. In fact, Cheren noticed that her bag was covered with dust though how was that possible, he didn't want to find out.

"Shouldn't we get you ready for tomorrow?" Cheren asked as Bianca continued as though she was distracted again.

"Oh yeah…" Bianca said, laughing in embarrassment and placed her bag onto the bed. She sat on top of the bed and dangled her legs out while she stared obediently at Cheren. "So… what do you suggest?" Cheren was silent for a moment while his brain calculated everything that Bianca needed.

"Well for starters, you might want to make sure you have your personal belongings like extra set of clothes, identification card, and your wallet. Also, a map would help as well since you tend to get lost very easily. We need to buy some Pokemon products like Potion and stuff, so we should go to the store after this," Cheren said.

"Oh! I think I have a map in my closet!" Bianca scurried to her closet and opened it to see loads of random items come crashing down and scattering all over the floor. "Ouch!" Bianca groaned as she slowly got up and dusted off the dirt from her hat.

"And a first aid kit," Cheren added, noticing the new bruise Bianca got. Bianca didn't listen to Cheren's comment for she was too curious in a snapshot photo on the ground. She picked it up and wiped the dust off of it.

"Hey Cheren! Look what I found." Bianca scurried to Cheren and held it out to him. Cheren peered over and noticed that it was a photograph of three kids in front of Bianca's house.

"Oh yes, I remember," Cheren said, recognizing the photo, "We took this picture when we were five." In the middle was Bianca – short with two small yellow ponytails and wearing a white floppy hat and a green summer dress. She had that small cute bucktooth smile and very chubby cheeks with dimples. On little Bianca's left was a younger version of Cheren with sleek well groomed hair. He had on a small white collared dress shirt and black tux pants. Cheren remembered that he had just come back from competing in the international spelling bee contest when they took this picture. His glasses were lopsided in the photo and he looked as though he was going to lose his balance because the third kid (on Bianca's right) tried to pull him in closer together in the group. This kid was grinning deviously and made a peace sign to the camera with his free hand as the other one tugged on Cheren's shirt. The kid's messy brown hair and ragged black t-shirt and brown cargo pants made him look like the complete opposite twin of well dressed Cheren.

"You know, I hope he is okay," Bianca said, sounding worried as she stared into the picture and Cheren knew who she was talking about. He handed the picture back to Bianca and she, after a moment of hesitation, stuffed it into her bag.

"Don't worry," Cheren said, seeing that Bianca was still looking anxious, "He is such a hard headed guy and has the best survival instinct out of all of us. As long as he doesn't do something stupid and end up in jail."

"He wouldn't be in jail!" Bianca defended and gasped in shock at Cheren's comment. "He's a good person."

"I know he is a good person," Cheren hastily said, "But sometimes, he isn't the brightest. I mean, he ran off on his Pokemon journey even though he was supposed to wait for a couple of weeks."

"You know, I don't understand why Professor Juniper made us wait," Bianca frowned. "I think it would've made more sense if we just left when she finally decided."

"Well it can't be help," Cheren said, shrugging his shoulders, "She had a lot of lectures to attend to in the other regions. In fact, she's at one right now just outside of town. Also, the starter Pokemon weren't ready until this week. She wants to make sure they are presentable for us when she gets back."

"But if we started sooner, I wouldn't have to hide it from my dad the whole time," Bianca grumbled outloud.

"Hiding what from your dad the whole time?" A gruff voice asked from behind. Bianca squealed and Cheren felt as though he received a huge electrical shock. He turned around and then looked down to see a short and extremely chubby bald man with a giant beer belly. His belt barely tightened around his waist. He had beady eyes that looked furious. How he got up the stairs without them noticing, Cheren could only guess as he gulped in fear and tried not to sweat too much under pressure.

"D-dad," Bianca squeaked though it sounded more like 'help' to Cheren's ears.

"H-hello sir," Cheren said nervously. The man merely glared at the boy who gulped again and took a step back. Even though he was taller, Cheren felt rather small in front of Bianca's dad. "Hello Cheren. Tell me what Bianca?" the dad asked again, snapping his attention back to Bianca.

"Umm… well…" Bianca squeaked as she tried to look anywhere but her father. "You see…" She seemed to be lost for words and continued to squeak as though that was the only noise she could make.

"Bianca Bel Brooks," Bianca's father said in a threatening tone, making Bianca cowered behind Cheren. When Bianca's full name was used, he usually meant business – business that Cheren didn't want to get in between it.

"I'm not your shield!" Cheren hissed nervously at Bianca as her father was just inches away from Cheren's face. Cheren could feel his life flashing by as Bianca's dad continued to glare.

"Cheren, is there something you would like to tell me?" Bianca's father said in his "man-to-man" talk voice. Bianca's hand squeezed Cheren's arm so tight that he could feel Bianca's nails digging into his skin. The only thing Cheren had the guts to do was to laugh nervously but that just made things worse. "Are you not taking the tone of my voice seriously young man?"

_Oh snap… I'm going to have my funeral sooner than I thought…_

"Heh, heh, you know… funny story-."

There was a sudden ringing downstairs and no one upstairs spoke a single word as they listened to Bianca's mother shuffling over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello? Oh good morning! What? Oh yes, hold on a second… Honey!" the mother called from downstairs. "It's Mrs. Black!" Cheren's eyes widened. Mrs. Black? That was their childhood friend's (the one from the picture) mom! Although Cheren was grateful for the lady's timing, he was still puzzled. Why was she calling at this time? Could it be… about that guy?

"And?" Bianca's dad roared, annoyed that he was being interrupted from interrogating his daughter. "Don't just tell me one piece of information and not say anything else!"

"Oh don't you give me that attitude!" Bianca's mom yelled back and then said softly, "Excuse me, I'll get back to you after I take care of my husband." Cheren could hear loud crashing footsteps as Bianca's mom came up, looking furious at her husband. She looked remarkably scary in her bathrobe and with curlers in her hair. Her teeth were bared like she was about to strike. "You are an ungrateful-no-good husband! You sit in front of the T.V. all day you fat lazy bum!"

"Oh no," Bianca said, rolling her eyes. "Here we go again…"

"I am ungrateful? You never get things done on time. I work hard every weekday to bring money to this house. All I ask is for my meals to be made on time and some downtime without you yaking away."

"Me? Yak? Looks who talking! All you do is sit on your butt and complain about how the world should revolve around you! All I ask from you is to be patient for once! But noooooo all you care about is football-" The two parents continued to squabble and Cheren and Bianca slowly tiptoe past while watching the heated argument like a tennis rally.

"Sorry," Bianca sighed as they tiptoed down the stairs, "They love to argue a lot about each others' lives. Mom told me that that was how parents expressed their love to each other. It could go on for hours."

"It's okay," Cheren said shrugging, thinking about how back at his home it was always quiet. "I'll go talk to Mrs. Black and see what she wants. Thank Arcecus that she decided to call then." He noticed that Mrs. Brooks left the phone in the kitchen. Cheren quickly went to the stove and turned off the heat. No need to start a fire now. "Bianca, guard the stairs."

"From what?" Bianca said, confused.

"Your dad. I prefer not to have to encounter another sneak attack from him again." Cheren rolled his eyes and placed the phone to his ears. "Hello Mrs. Black. How are you today?"

"Cheren?" the voice sounded confused on the other line but Cheren detected a hint of impatience and uneasiness. "Never mind, where is Mrs. Brooks?"

"Still arguing with Mr. Brooks," Cheren said, frowning. Mrs. Black was usually very polite and as easygoing as her son. It wasn't like her to sound this troubled. "Is there something wrong?" There was such a long silence on the line before Mrs. Black spoke again that Cheren thought that there was something was wrong with the phone.

Cheren listened and his eyes grew wide with shock and then fear. His hand gripped the phone as though it was his life line. He had trouble to move his mouth and finally gasped, "Y-yes, I understand, I'll get Mr. Brooks ready now." He hung up and went straight to Bianca, who was staring at the stairs in a daze. Upstairs, the arguments continued though to Cheren they seemed to be dulled by his shock."Get your father and tell him it's an emergency. We need his car."

"What happen?" Bianca asked puzzled. Cheren fell silent as though he was trying to get his bearing. "Cheren?" Bianca said, sounding scared. "W-what happened?"

"H-he's in the h-hospital," Cheren finally said. He looked at Bianca's green frightened eyes and she understood who he was talking about.

"The hospital?" Bianca squeaked, her fingers clutching her cheeks.

"Professor Juniper just called his mom. She needs your dad to drive her to the hospital. S-she said it was serious…" Cheren choked the last sentence out.

"H-how could this happen?" Bianca said, tears streaming down her eyes. Her legs were shaking and she looked as though she would've have fallen to the ground had not Cheren grabbed her by the arm. Cheren wanted to collapse to the ground as well, but he had to stay strong, strong for Bianca's sake.

"That's what we're going to find out. Now come on."

**Author's Notes**

Okay, I'm still trying to decide what Pokemon our trainers should have. Tepig, Snivy, and Oshawott... Can you give me your opinion?

**IMPORTANT! **(Well, sort of): All right, I have decided to put in OCs in this story but I'm not going to accept any as of now. I'm still making the guidelines so just want to let you know if you want to start brainstorming. Brace yourself though. It will be very long. I might even make a forum for this kind of thing…

Remember to vote for my poll or you'll never see this story again. (Muhahaha!)

Anyways, let's thank my reviewers before I go.

…

**littlmidget123**

**N the puppet**

**Ketchum Kid** (113 chapters! Wow! That is something I want to see. XD Thanks for the review.)

**SagaAuraMana**

**Light-Sakura**

**alex** (Well, I focused on detail more on the other chapter because if I didn't, the chapter would be a lot shorter. Lol. Thanks for the review.)

**Dreadly Rise**

**LilyFragrance**

**hydro-serpent58**

…

Thanks for reading. I'll hopefully see you in the next chapter. :D

**-JapanDreamer**


	4. Your Name is

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Whoa another chapter is here! Very long by the way. :D

Okay, the poll is taken down and lucky for you guys, this story is here to stay. Thank you to those who have voted.

Oh mannnn, I can't believe the names of the protagonists of the games – Hilbert and Hilda? Sorry but I don't think the names fit. Therefore as the author of this story, I have decided to make up my own names. That's right! I HAVE THE POWER! LOL.

Therefore I have decided that the main character's name will be Sirius Black. LOL. JK. But man, that would be awesome. Anyways, our hero's real name will be something else. You wouldn't believe how many baby books I went through just to figure out a good name. XO

Enjoy!

**Chapter 3:**

_Nuvema Hospital_

The hospital was quite busy as the staff members keep running back and forth and phones were ringing off the hook. Yet strangely enough, the hallways managed to be somehow quiet as though the walls were absorbing the noises produced. Still, there was tension in the air. Almost everybody was trying to survive the next hour and they all haven't slept for more than ten hours. The petite nurse behind her work station would've loved to throw the documents in front of her into the air. However, this would look quite unprofessional and might get her fired. So, the nurse merely clutched her curly brown hair in frustration as she read the piece of paper on a certain patient's diagnosis.

"Excuse me," a woman said, sounding out of breath, from behind the counter. No doubt another visitor looking for the room number of a patient.

"Yes? May I help you?" the nurse said, still looking at her papers.

"I would like to speak to Doctor Jackson." After a deep sigh, the nurse looked up to see who it was and almost dropped off of her chair from shock.

"P-professor Juniper," the nurse finally squeaked, staring at the famous Pokemon professor of Unova who specialized in the origins of Pokemon.

Professor was a loose term to use for this lady if one was to judge by the stereotypical intellectual version. Juniper, one of the first female Pokemon professors, looked as though she worked out every day. She had on red worn out sneakers instead of pointed high heels and, instead of a briefcase, was carrying a large duffel bag in one arm and a large blue rectangular present that was tied with a green ribbon under her other. Despite her large and unbuttoned collared up lab coat, she was wearing a white tank top along with a short green skirt that showed off the muscles in her calves and her complexion was healthy unlike the typical pasty white description. Her light brown hair was twisted around her head to make it look like a giant cinnamon swirled ice cream. She could have been a model with her looks. Still, her cyan color eyes which were usually filled with glimmer of intellect mixed with enthusiasm whenever speaking to someone was now filled with nothing but concern.

"Is Doctor Jackson here?" Professor Juniper asked again urgently.

"Y-yes," the nurse flustered, pushing mountains of paperwork aside in order to find the phone. "I'll contact him right now." It took a while, but the nurse managed to page the doctor on call. And no sooner had the nurse put the phone back into its cradle, the man suddenly appeared as though he had a psychic Pokemon to teleport him here.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Jackson. It is an honor to meet you Professor Juniper," the sandy hair man said in a firm tone and took out his hand. Juniper, struggling with the baggage she was carrying, took out her hand as well. It was warm handshake despite the icy cold atmosphere.

"Same here," Juniper replied as she observed the tired looking man. He looked rather young for a doctor in Professor Juniper's opinion but then again, as she reminded herself many times, looks aren't everything. The doctor immediately ushered Professor Juniper to his private office which, surprising, was very organized and clean compared to the nurse's. After closing the door, Doctor Jackson offered Juniper the chair in front and then, to Professor Juniper's surprise, Jackson took another chair right by and sat in front of Juniper instead of behind his desk. "I'm glad that you managed to find time to come here. I didn't know who exactly to contact until we looked through his bag and found your Pokedex. I was surprise how fast you were able to come." He then fell silent as though unsure of what to say next and Juniper decided to break the ice first by talking.

"I was at a seminar when I got your call, and thank Arcecus that it was here in the same town. Where is he?" Juniper asked urgently, getting to the point. The doctor looked solemn and said quietly a question instead of an answer.

"I know I didn't really ask when I contacted you on the phone, but I have to ask now. Does he have any parents?"

"His mother is on the way," Professor Juniper said quickly. "She sounds really flustered when I told her, but I didn't really say much though. Where is he?"

"Did you tell her to bring identification to prove that he is her son?" Doctor Jackson continued to ask as though he didn't hear the question.

"Wait, hold on," Juniper said, sounding suspicious of the questions now, "What are you getting at?"

"I think," Doctor Jackson said quietly as though contemplating the situation, "That it is best if she doesn't see him as of yet…"

"Why?" Professor Juniper said urgently and bit angry, "You told me on the phone that he is fine and should be able to leave soon right?"

"He's fine physically… Its…" the doctor sighed and rubbed his temple as though suffering from a long day. He paused for a moment as though he didn't really know what to say until finally, "He is suffering a memory loss."

There was a long silence in the room. Juniper felt like an ice cube slipped into her stomach. Even the noise from outside couldn't penetrate the sinking shock. Memory loss? This sounded like some sort of plot line of a bad and cheesy drama show.

"A-are you joking?" Professor Juniper asked weakly. "The boy… he's not the brightest boy and he always forgetting things. Maybe… no, not maybe… it has to be just one of those times." The doctor looked sad and shook his head silently. Professor Juniper slumped in her chair and knew that this was way worse than she thought. Feeling like something stuck in her throat, it took her a lot of focus to ask the next question. "Did he lose… all of his memories?"

"Well, complete memory loss is not for his case. I mean, he is still able to talk and all," the doctor explained, but Juniper just looked blankly back as though confused what he meant by that. Jackson rubbed the temple of his head again for a moment as he tried to figure out a way to explain. "Okay, to break it down simply, there are three types of memories a person has." He held up three fingers when he said this. "One-" he held up only his index finger up "- is called the semantic memory which is general information without needing to remember specific events like understanding the language the person knows or recognizing the definitions to words. It's like a dictionary type of memory. Now, the boy does not seem to have a problem with this so far since he is able to make conversations, so I say that he is okay in this category

"The second-" this time Doctor Jackson held up two fingers "-is called the procedural memory (also known as the muscle memory) which is the memory on things the person have done over and over again through the course of his or her life and thus created strong neuron pathways to the brain so it becomes natural in the day to day life. This includes things such as riding a bike. This memory seems to be okay since he has been walking around easily.

"But the problem here," Jackson said seriously, getting to the point now, and held up three fingers, "is the third category – the episodic memory. This is the memory that holds any experience the person had in his or her lifetime. Things such as conversations, people he or she encountered are forgotten…" Jackson paused for a moment before adding, "Even their own name."

It was a lot of information to take in and process. What was that kid doing to get him into a situation like this? Didn't he know better than to worry his mom? Oh Arcecus, what was she going to tell his mom? "So… so he…" Juniper didn't know what to say.

"He most likely won't recognize you or his own mother," Jackson said softly, answering Professor Juniper's silent question as though he was a mind reader. "I think it would be too much for him if he was to meet his mother now… and too much for her as well."

"But how could this happen? Why would he have a memory loss?"

"A psychological trauma usually is the cause. The burnt red marks on his body looked like he had an electrical shock through his body – could be from the lightning during the storm. Near death experience could cause this."

There were still too many questions swirling around her head. Juniper took a deep breath before asking, "Storm? He was in a storm? Where did you find him?"

Doctor Jackson told her the story – how an elderly couple found the boy in that forest and took him to the hospital as soon as possible.

"That forest?" Professor Juniper said, sounding confuse, "It is really far from here. What was he doing out there?"

"I don't know. I was hoping that you would know, seeing how he has your Pokedex. I thought he was doing some field research for you but judging by the look on your face I would say no. I would ask him but…" Doctor Jackson fell silent.

"But then why didn't they contact us?" Professor Juniper asked, sounding confused and a bit angry. "You said that he had been here for almost a week."

"Stranger still, he wasn't carrying anything," the doctor said, sounding puzzled for the first time. "I don't know what he was doing there in the first place without any gear, especially since there was a storm out there the night before he was found."

"So… how did you get my Pokedex if you didn't find him with his bag?" Professor Juniper asked, looking lost now. Every question the doctor answered seemed to lead to another question.

"He left all of his things at the Pokemon Center near there. Including his Pokemon…" Doctor Jackson said, sounding even more puzzled, "It was fortunate that I checked there yesterday on a whim since I figured he could be a trainer. I found the Pokedex and immediately thought that you would know him and, well, here we are." Doctor Jackson got up for a moment and took out something from his desk. He placed a blue outdoor bag with a shoulder strap on to Juniper's lap. She opened it and saw that it held a map, a badge case, one Poke ball, and a spiral notebook with a pencil held where the spiral binding was. The doctor also handed her a small rectangular slide phone-like size black Pokedex. There was a black screen on the top and a red shape Poke ball on the bottom. Juniper shook her head in disbelief as though she could not process what she was hearing. How could this be?

"This wasn't supposed to happen. He was a recommended and prospective candidate to help me take data of Pokemon," Juniper muttered, feeling sick to the stomach. "I gave him a Pokedex so he could learn how to use it, but instead, he recklessly started his journey. He was suppose to wait with his friends… oh no, what am I going to tell them?" Juniper put her head onto her hands which rested on her lap. Doctor Jackson didn't say anything and merely wait patiently for Professor Juniper to take it all in.

"Perhaps you should go meet him," Doctor Jackson said, "You know him better than I do so maybe you can help jog some of his memory back. Maybe trigger a memory or something…"

"Shouldn't we wait for his mother?"

"I would like to talk to her myself and try to let the news down gently," Doctor Jackson said. "You know her better than I do..." This time Jackson looked straight at Juniper's eyes. "I let you be the judge." Juniper knew exactly what he meant by that.

…

"This way," the nurse said as she led the professor down the white hall. After passing through a heavy door, the room was deadly silent except for the sound of their footsteps. Doors lined up one after another. Juniper continued to fumble with her blue present tied with a green ribbon, her duffle bag, and the bag that belonged to the trainer. Professor Jackson had to take care of other patients but promised to come back when Mrs. Black arrived. Juniper had goose bumps but not from the cold air that was blasting through the air conditioners.

The nurse finally stopped in front of one of the doors. On the side was a blank sign where the name of the patient should be. For some reason, it gave a sense of foreboding.

"Tell me the truth," Juniper said, "How is he? Is he depressed all the time?" The nurse paused for a moment as though bewildered at Juniper's concern.

"He is very energetic," the nurse said, giving a warm smile. "He talks a lot and is a joy for Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. They say that he is like the grandson they never had. In fact, they're in there with him." It was true; Juniper could hear the sound of laughter and a energetic boy talking from behind the door.

"Really now," Juniper couldn't help but smiled to herself. Maybe he is okay after all. The nurse's beeper sounded and she took it to check who paged her.

"I have a couple of rounds to do," the nurse said, "but I'll come back to check up." With that, the nurse left quickly down the hall. With a huge sigh, Juniper braced herself and knocked on the door. The sound echoed in the hallway.

"Come in!" An elderly voice said. Opening the door, Juniper saw that the room looked rather furnished and well lit for the curtains were moved back to allow sunlight in. The white walls seemed to reflect the light as it bounced off everywhere. There was even a television but it was not turned on. When Professor Juniper opened the door, she noticed that there was an elderly couple sitting by the bed of the boy. They looked like they were enjoying the fourteen year old boy's excited personality for he was waving his arms and stuff, apparently talking about some interesting story. In front of him was an empty tray of food that he had recently finished. The boy's brown messy hair looked as rumpled as his white hospital gown. He had bandages on his arms and one on his cheek though they looked more recent. He had an IV needle stuck to his arm and liquid was dripping from a plastic bag that was hung on a pole. His brown eyes were lit up with energy and it looked as though sitting in the hospital bed was boring him to death.

"Finally! I was tired of wait-" the boy paused in shock when he realized that the person he was talking to was someone he didn't recognize. "Who are you?" he asked, looking puzzled. He suddenly eyed the present in Juniper's hand. "Grandpa, did you buy me that?" Professor Juniper almost shuddered from uneasiness at the sight of the blank eyes. Calm down, he couldn't have lost all of his memories.

"Now, now boy, that's no way to speak to adults," the old man said in a slightly stern voice. "And I didn't buy you a present. It must be for someone else."

"Sorry grandpa," the boy said, apologetically. The old man gave a stiff approving nod before smiling and turning to Juniper.

"I think you have the wrong room," the elderly man said politely. "Our doctor is Jackson. Oh and if you could, can you find one of the nurses to take this boy's tray? He's been eating so much the past few days." Juniper winced. She should've realized that wearing a lab coat would immediately make people assume that she was a doctor.

"I know Professor Jackson. That's why I came to see you," Juniper said, looking straight into the boy's eyes.

"Me?" the boy said, looking surprised and turned to the two people on either side of him for help. The elderly couple looked confused.

"Is there something wrong?" the elderly woman asked.

"I've talked to him," Juniper said, this time turning her attention to the elderly couple, "I know him." Juniper pointed to the bewildered boy.

"What?" the boy said shocked. "I'm sorry but do you have the right person?" Juniper tried to not look uneasy at the boy's confusion. Calm down, maybe he's fluking it. Though, the idea that he is was starting to wane. The elders however, immediately realized what Professor Juniper was talking about and stood up.

"We're sorry. We heard from Doctor Jackson earlier but we didn't know you would come so soon. We'll leave right away," the aged man said. "We'll be with the doctor if you need anything." And he turned to the shocked boy. "We'll come back later."

"No wait. Grandpa Robinson, Grandma Robinson," the boy said, still sounding lost and confused, "There is no need for that. I don't -." However, the two left quickly, leaving Juniper alone with the boy. He slowly turned to look at Professor Juniper who dropped her present, duffle bag, and the other blue bag onto an empty table in the room.

"Err, I'm sorry, but I seriously don't know you," the boy said, "You see, I lost my memory-"

"I'm Professor Juniper from Nuvema Town; I study the origins of Pokemon," she said, trying to sound calm and interrupting the boy. She looked expectantly at him as though recognition on the boy's face would show up. However, the boy merely stared blankly back. His eyes widened with more confusion.

"Professor? Like a teacher? You certainly don't look like one." The boy scratched his messy brown hair as though trying to understand a hard question on a test. Now that was a look that Juniper knew quite well.

The first time she saw that look was when she met the final three nominees to explain her research program. Juniper could tell that the boy had good heart, but when she asked him a question about naming the common areas the Woobat could be found, all she got was that same blank stare. Professor Juniper knew immediately, right then and there, that this kid wasn't a good candidate because in order to complete the Pokedex, the trainer must observe the environment the Pokemon lived in for data and make sure not to miss a single detail.

The poor blundering idiot just simply smiled and admitted that he didn't know. Professor Juniper even came to the thought that maybe he cheated on the written part of the test. Who could get such a high score and still act like he doesn't know anything?_ At least he knew his name; _Professor Juniper reminded herself when she asked him for it. It was the only question he got right of all the ones she asked him. And yet right now…

"Well no matter," the boy said, looking sheepish, "it is nice to meet you Professor Juniper. I would introduce myself but I don't really know my-"

"Alex."

"Huh?" the boy said, looking puzzled at Professor Juniper. "What did you say?" Juniper took a deep breath and looked deep into the boy's eyes.

"Your name is Alex. Alex Black. You lived in Nuvema Town and you are a potential Pokemon trainer nominee to help me with my research." Professor Juniper said. The boy gaped in shock at Juniper's words. Juniper took a deep breath and continued, "Now that introductions are out of the way, it looks like you and I have a lot to discuss about."

…

"Excuse me," Bianca said, slamming her hands to the table and startling the nurse behind it. "We're here to see our friend! What room is he in?" There was a long stretch of silence between the two before the nurse decided to say something.

"Can't tell you without a patient's name," the nurse replied back.

"Oh," Bianca blushed in embarrassment. "His name is Alex. Alex Black." The red hair nurse looked wary of the short blond hair girl in front of her. In the back, the nurse noticed that there was a slim black hair kid wearing glasses and who looked slightly embarrassed at his friend.

"Hold on and let me check in the computer," the nurse muttered as she started to type in the name in the computer.

"Ohhhh, I wonder what happened to him. We should stop by the gift shop and buy flowers," Bianca said, panicking, and jumped up and down on the balls of her feet. Cheren noticed that she was fixing her green beret on top of her head – a habit of hers that she does whenever she was feeling anxious.

"Guys like Alex don't really need flowers and don't worry, I'm pretty sure it's nothing serious," Cheren said, shrugging his shoulder, trying to calm himself down as well. "He might have just simply fallen off a cliff and hit his head."

"Cheren!" Bianca said in a horrified voice. "That's awful!"

"Are you kidding?" Cheren said, "He has a hard head. Remember that time, when he tried to give you a Petilil when you were seven?"

"Yeah," Bianca said, blushing as she remembered when the little scruffy boy covered in scrapes, bandages, and mud, came into her house and presented her that adorable wild green bulb Pokemon which cooed and cuddled quite cutely in her arms.

Long story short – Alex and Cheren went to go see the Sky Arrow Bridge with their family and Bianca was mad because her father wouldn't let her go. Something about being too far and too much money and blah, blah, blah. Bianca remembered crying a lot and screaming 'I hate you' to her dad before storming up into her room. She didn't even say goodbye to Alex and Cheren when they left.

So in Pinwheel Forest, which was close to the bridge, Alex, to cheer Bianca up, had (with a lot of effort and gotten into a lot of trouble while at it) run away from the group, managed to tame and sort of capture a wild Petilil. Alex gave it to Bianca as a souvenir from the trip which Bianca thought was really romantic. Way better than Cheren's Sky Arrow pencil bag. "He was very brave to do that for me… despite all of those injuries."

"But remember when your father got mad, threw him out of the house, and he fell on top of his head on the road." Cheren said, continuing the story.

"Oh yeah, that jerk," Bianca growled, remembering how her father yelled at Alex for bringing home a Pokemon without consulting him. Of course, Alex just grinned which made her father even more mad and well… "Didn't even let me keep that Petilil."

"Point is," Cheren said, trying to get back on topic, "Alex was perfectly fine no matter what is thrown at him. And when we go see him, he'll be laughing and grinning sheepishly when we scold him for leaving without us."

"Yeah!" Bianca said, feeling confident and a bit relieve, "I'm going to give that guy a piece of my mind."

"Sorry, but there is no one by the name of that," the nurse said. There was a shocked silence as Bianca and Cheren turned to face the nurse.

"What?" Bianca said, "Are you sure? Check again."

"Miss," the nurse said, patiently, "I've checked the computer five times already. There is no one by the name of Alex."

"Alex with an 'X'?" Cheren chimed in, thinking that she might've spelled it wrong.

"No, not even Alec with a 'c'."

"That's weird," Bianca said, turning to Cheren as though he has the answers to everything and not this nurse, "Is this the right hospital?"

"How should I know? I just sat in the car, listening to your dad complained about the traffic," Cheren said and then grimaced as though in pain, "I really hate to see what he will say after he parks the car."

"Bianca! Cheren!" The two kids jumped in surprised at the sound of their names and turned to see a frantic looking woman coming toward them. She was a beautiful woman with a model figure that made quite a few people turn their heads toward her. She had long brown swirly hair that was tied up into a pony tail and she had a blue headband to push the hair from her forehead. Still, there were curly bangs coming out of the side by her ears. She was wearing a v-neck shirt and comfortable blue pants. Her aqua blue eyes were filled with nothing but panic and tears. "Don't run so fast! I thought I lost you guys. Did you find Alex?"

"No Mrs. Black," Cheren said politely, "The nurse said that he's not in this hospital."

"What?" Mrs. Black's eyes were filled with shock now. "But Juniper said that he was here! This is the Nuvema Hospital right?"

"Well yeah, but they said, there is no Alex here. Do you think we should call the professor and ask her again?"

"Juniper, as in Professor Juniper?" the nurse suddenly piped in. Alex's mom, Cheren, and Bianca turned their heads to the surprised nurse.

"Y-yes," Mrs. Black said. "She called me to let me know to come here. Why you ask?"

"She is with the boy right now… is his name Alex?" the nurse said, looking stunned. Cheren looked confused at the nurse's question. Of course, his name was Alex. Why did she act like she didn't know it? And most importantly, why isn't it in the computer?

"Where is his room?" Mrs. Black asked urgently.

"Room 212 but-." The nurse never managed to finish speaking for Bianca and Mrs. Black hurried down the hall.

"Guys wait up! You can't run in the hospital!" Cheren called out like a parent as he tried to 'not run' but still catch up to Mrs. Black and Bianca.

"STOP!" The nurse screeched, "The doctor! You need to see the doctor first!" But the three were already long gone. The nurse fumbled around her desk and grabbed the phone. "Dr. Jackson, we got a problem."

…

"No way. You're joking," the boy said, shocked. The room was deadly quiet, quiet enough to hear the drip of the fluid of the IV bag.

"I don't think I would joke in a situation like this," Professor Juniper said. "Especially to someone who lost his memory." Juniper waited as though by some miracle that Alex would finally end this charade and show that he actually know who he is. Has anything she told him trigger a memory or two?

"My name… all this time… is Alex…?" He said this as though in wonder and amazement. "Funny. Never thought I would learn it like this. Then again, never really thought I would be in a situation like this. Actually, since I lost my memory, I wouldn't know what I would've really thought… Well, at least grandpa and grandma know what to call me now." Juniper gave a bewildered stare at Alex as he kept talking to himself.

"So it is true," Juniper whispered, "You really did lose your memory?"

"Yeah…" Alex said, feeling a little bit uncomfortable now, but was trying hard to manage the same positive upbeat attitude. "I don't really know what happened to me. Every time I tried to remember, I just feel like… like I'm in a white room with no way out. No doors, no walls, no windows, nothing. Not even a voice to let me know I was okay or everything was going to be fine. I was just wandering around, never to really find a direction." He looked kind of defeated now as though he didn't know what to do.

Juniper frowned in confusion. "So you have no idea how you ended up here?"

"No, I told the doctor many times already. Everything is a blank. Though, I do get shivers every time I tried to remember it." Alex paused as though trying to think of something and immediately, he involuntary shuddered as though his body was trying very hard to repress the forgotten recollections. "I wonder what was it that made me lose all my memories." There was an uneasy silence that was finally broken by Alex.

"So, what kind of person am I like?" Alex asked, looking embarrassed to ask such a thing.

"Kind of person?" This question sounded a bit strange.

"Yeah, sounds weird but every since I lost my memories I was confused as to how I should act. I mean, I don't really know who I really am. Am I funny guy or someone who likes to stay quiet? Am I someone who likes to act poise and mature or do I like to get into trouble?"

"Oh yes, you're definitely someone who likes to get into trouble," Juniper said, rolling her eyes.

"Man, that's what grandpa and grandma kept telling me," Alex grinned, sounding relieved. "Maybe I still managed to retain some who I am… thought it is kind of scary. If I get my memories back, does that affect who I am right now…?" After a pause, Alex decided to change topics, "So, why it is that no one came looking for me? Did I run away from home or something?" Alex said this in a joking manner but that's when Professor Juniper remembered the main reason she managed to find him… and she felt the anger boiling inside of her.

"Maybe it's the fact that you took MY Pokedex without MY permission and left right after without telling anyone?" This time Juniper said it in a growling voice. Maybe this would bring Alex's attention and besides she did say that she would feed him to a tank of Krokorok the next time she saw him.

"Um, judging from the look of your face and the fact that you're emphasizing a lot on the word 'my'," Alex said, starting to realize that he was in big trouble for something he can't remember, "I should be very afraid now." He immediately started to scoot back on his bed as far away as he can from the angry looking professor.

"That's right," Professor Juniper said in a very scary tone, the kind where someone is going to get punched to death. "You are in so much trouble and when you remember why (and I'll make sure you remember it) I'm going to make sure your punishment is so dire that you wish you didn't remember it! AT ALL!"

"Ummm, I think I'm already am wishing I won't," Alex squeaked in horror.

"Juniper!" A voice yelled and the door slammed open. "Is she here?" Juniper spun around while Alex screamed with terror, thinking that the punishment was already here.

"AHHHHH! Don't hurt me!" Juniper and the person, who turned out to be Dr. Jackson, who opened the door, turned to stare at Alex who was slow to realize that he was screaming for no reason.

"Oh sorry," Alex said looking embarrassed. "Dr. Jackson, what are you doing here?" The man gave an uncomfortable look and quickly whispered something to Professor Juniper whose eyes grew big and looked uneasy as well.

"Alex," Professor Juniper said, "Stay where you are." With that, Juniper and Dr. Jackson left the room, leaving the confused boy alone. Although, Alex had so many questions still, there was one thing he was sure about himself as he got out of the bed and slowly grabbed onto the IV pole.

He was still a troublemaker at heart.

…

"Stop running!" Cheren yelled. "You're going to get hurt!"

As though to prove his point, Bianca tripped down the hall and across the floor that had a yellow caution sign that read "CAUTION WET FLOOR" with even picture of a stick figure falling to the ground in a way similar to Bianca.

"Owie," Bianca groaned as she got up, her orange vest and white dress were completely wet and messy.

"And this is why you don't run," Cheren said as Mrs. Black helped Bianca back up.

"Be careful Bianca," Mrs. Black said, "Now, what room is it again?"

"Umm, did the nurse say 212 or 121 or 211 or was it the basement?" Bianca said, as she tried to adjust her green beret. Both of them turned to stare at Cheren as though he had all the answers.

"This is why you shouldn't have run off so fast before checking again with the nurse," Cheren groaned, "His room is 212. Down this hall and most likely on the right, judging by how they are numbering this place."

"Bianca, Cheren, Dina!" Mrs. Black, Bianca, and Cheren turned and saw Bianca's dad, huffing and puffing, as he tried to reach them. "Why did you leave me? I told you to wait in the front while I park my car." He took out a handkerchief and wiped his bald head that was shiny from sweat.

"Sorry dad," Bianca said, looking guilty, "We were really anxious to see Alex. We're all worried about him." Cheren nodded in agreement and mumbled an apology as well. Bianca's dad simply waved his hand as though to say 'forget it' since he was still gasping for air. Once he managed to get his breath back, he stood up and said,

"Yeah, well you're going to have to wait. The nurse told me to stop you. She said to meet up with the doctor first."

"What? Why?" Mrs. Black said, looking confused.

"There you are!" A voice called out and everybody's head turned to see two people coming to them.

"Dina! Mr. Brookes! Bianca! Cheren!" Professor Juniper said. "Thank goodness we found you."

"Juni?" Mrs. Black said bewildered. "What's going on?"

"Mrs. Black I presume?" Doctor Jackson chimed in.

"Professor?" Cheren sputtered in shock as he tried to straighten himself and look more presentable.

"Random doctor whose name I don't know?" Bianca said. Everybody turned to stare at her. "Well everybody was saying everybody's name except his and I didn't really know his name."

"My name is Doctor Peter Jackson," the man said, directing his attention to Mrs. Black and shaking her hand, "I am the one who is in charge of your son."

"Is he okay?" Mrs. Black asked, "The nurse said I should see you first." Dr. Jackson immediately looked uncomfortable and turned to Professor Juniper as though she was the doctor and not him.

"Okay," Juniper said and turned to Mrs. Black. "Dina, I need to talk to you for a second."

"Um, where is Alex's room? I want to go see him," Bianca asked, raising her hand as though this was some sort of classroom.

"Why don't you guys get a drink and wait in the waiting area while Professor Juniper and I talk to Mrs. Black?" Professor Jackson said quickly and Cheren immediately became suspicious of the situation. "We'll go see him later if we can. The waiting room is down the hall and take a left,"

"What? But why?" Bianca asked, confused. "What's going on?"

"Mr. Brooks, will you please watch over these two?" Professor Juniper asked the short balding man.

"Um, yes sure thing…" Mr. Brooks said, looking uneasy, "Is Alex okay? I mean, no injuries right?"

"Yes," Juniper said, but Cheren could tell that she was telling a white lie. "He's fine. Dina, let's go." With that, Professor Juniper, Doctor Jackson, and Mrs. Black, who now looked terrified and confused, walked down the opposite way.

"Daddy," Bianca said, sounding scared. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," he replied, sounding worried. "But let's go ahead and wait. We'll find out."

Cheren frowned as he slowly followed Bianca and her father. Professor Juniper was definitely hiding something. And for some reason, he felt like it was worse than he could've ever imagined.

He just didn't realize how much.

…

Alex got lost as he searched the entire place to find out where Dr. Jackson and that lady professor went. He had to be stealthy since his IV pole wasn't silent type, so he wasn't able to keep his eye on them. It was after dodging a nurse pushing a cart that he spotted the lady professor in one of those offices. She had his back to him but she was speaking to this pretty lady with curly brown hair and sparkly blue eyes. For some reason, she was crying and looked like she was in pain. Who was this woman? For some reason, his body was telling him to eavesdrop. Carefully, Alex leaned against the wall and listened to what they were saying.

…

"That's why we didn't want you to meet him yet. At least, not until we can figure out a solution to this," Professor Juniper said to her. Earlier, Dr. Jackson just explained what was going on and even introduced Mr. and Mrs. Robinson who talked about their part of the story. Unfortunately, everything simply left the poor woman in shock. The doctor decided to leave Professor Juniper and Mrs. Black alone in the room and told them to call him if need be.

"But I'm his mother," she squeaked as though her voice wasn't working properly. "I want to make sure he is okay." She was wringing the bottom of her shirt and looked directly into Professor Juniper's eyes. "Juni, why did this happen?" Professor Juniper had to look away to hide her own tears.

Mrs. Black was a single mom, struggling everyday to survive and keep track of her teenage boy. She did several part time jobs in various places. An energetic boy like Alex made it difficult for her to keep track of him. Mrs. Black and Professor Juniper were friends in college and remained in touch all these years though it had been more and more distant the past few years since Juniper was always busy. In fact, Juniper didn't even know her friend had a son until she saw the name on the nominee's list for her research project.

"The doctor said that something that great will bring huge strain and stress to his mind. I-it is best if we take things slowly," Juniper finally said.

"H-he doesn't remember me…" she whispered in shock. "My son… my own son…" There was a long silence as she wept quietly with occasional sobs. "Why did this happen?" It was the question that haunted Juniper's mind and no amount of knowledge was able to solve that question.

"I'm sorry," Juniper said, comforting her friend. "I'm so sorry."

On the other side of the wall, a young boy listened to the sobs from the woman. The worst part was, he didn't even recognize that it was his mother who was crying until she had said so. Slowly and quietly, he, too, felt tears falling down - from guilt and grief.

**Author's Notes**

Well, on that happy note, I must say that I'm glad how this chapter turned out.

And now we know our protagonist's name. Finally!

For those who want to submit an OC, the guidelines are in my forum (the link can be found on my profile page). Check it out if you have the time.

Let's thank my reviewers before I go.

…

**CoffeeIncluded**

**littlmidget123**

**Ketchum Kid**

**Light-Sakura**

**N the puppet**

**Lily Fragrance**

**DreamingZombies**

**The person in which you do not** (thanks for reviewing. :D)

…

All right. That's it from me.

See you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	5. Everybody Kind of Knows What's Going On

**Disclaimer: I can't own Pokemon.**

Well now, another chapter. :D

Also important news on the bottom so be sure to read.

This one is a bit long so enjoy!

**Chapter 4:**

Cheren was at the vending machine but just stood lost and dazed in front of it as though the choices were too much to handle. Then again, after what happened for the last four hours, Cheren's thoughts felt like a blur. They had been in the room for more than fifteen minutes of itching waiting. Finally, with a sigh, he took out the coins from his pocket and decided on a couple of overpriced bags of salty pretzels. He also got a small foam cup of coffee from the hot pot that was sitting on the table for visitors to have. He went back to the waiting room where Bianca and her father were sitting. Actually Bianca's dad was gone now, probably to the bathroom.

There was an uncomfortable silence between the three since the 'talk' from earlier had not been finish. Actually that was part of the reason why Cheren decided to go buy snacks – to avoid some of the tension.

"Bianca!" The girl looked up as her friend tossed one of the bags of pretzels. It hit her head before it fell neatly onto her lap. "Oh, sorry about that."

"Could you aim better?" Bianca complained while rubbing her head.

"Well, I managed to drop it into your lap right?" Cheren said, sounding unconcern.

"After it hit my head!" Bianca pouted but immediately saw the depressed look on Cheren's face. "Still worried about Alex?"

"Yeah," Cheren said though he tried to sound nonchalant. "I think they're hiding something from us."

"Hmph, I hate it when people hide information from others," Bianca pouted. "It is a sign of disrespect."

"I know, it's so rude for people to do that. Oh yes, how is it going – "hiding" from your dad about your decision to go on a Pokemon journey?" Cheren added in a sarcastic voice.

"Very well. In fact, I'll be making sure you're in the front line when I tell him," Bianca said, equally sarcastic. Personally, she was impatient and sick and tired of waiting. She looked around to make sure no one was spying on them. There were several others like them in the waiting room but most seemed to be exhausted and asleep or reading out-of-date magazines due to sheer boredom. There was a nurse at the reception area but she was busy on the phone. "Come on. Before dad gets back from the bathroom." Bianca grabbed Cheren by the arm, causing him to spill the hot steaming coffee all over the floor.

"OW! Easy, easy!" Cheren winced and frowned at the brown stain now soaked onto his nice blue blazer coat. Now he was going to need to go to the dry cleaners again. Bianca shushed the guy as though it was his fault he got burned with scalding coffee. While Cheren gave a 'Are you really blaming me for screaming?' look, Bianca checked where the nurse was but she didn't even look up to see what the commotion was about. "Where are we going?" Cheren asked while moving his arm up and down to cool the stinging feeling.

"To find the room Alex is in silly," Bianca grinned. "Let's just say we're going to give him such a huge surprise that he won't even know what to say!"

…

"The question is what to do now," Professor Juniper said, looking at Dr. Jackson. Both were in the doctor's office. In the corner and sitting all alone was Alex's mom. She wasn't speaking at all and seemed to be a hollow empty shell. Of course, the shock was too much for her to handle now.

"Like I said before," Dr. Jackson sighed, "Memories are tricky. Triggering them to come back is unexplainable." He didn't mention of the possibility of never getting the memories back.

"But they are in his head right?" Juniper asked, scratching her own in frustration. "It's not like they vanished in thin air."

"No, most likely not," Dr. Jackson said. "However, it's not like we can just pull them out easily. Besides, it also depends on whether or not Alex wants them back." Mrs. Black looked up for the first time though she still seemed to be lost in words.

"What do you mean 'whether or not'? Of course he wants them back," Professor Juniper said, sounding angry. However, Dr. Jackson wasn't offended by this and merely looked weary. Instead, he changed the subject.

"I don't think leaving him in the hospital for more treatment will solve the problem. If we wish to get his memory back, we could try bringing him back to the place where he was found but the Robinson had told me that they tried to do this before but the poor boy couldn't handle it and fell unconscious." Juniper continued to think. The pieces they want were right in front of them but how to extract them out? This reminded her of the thesis one of her colleagues was working on back when…

"That's it!" Professor Juniper exclaimed jumping up. "I know someone who could help out with this memory loss."

"Really? Do I know him?" Dr. Jackson said, getting up.

"Well, he is actually a she but that's not the point," Juniper said and quickly explained as fast as she could of her theory and idea.

"That's great. I do remember reading some articles about that and although I still think it is a long shot, we should give it a try. We'll bring him over to your friend's lab and have him tested there. Perhaps a journey along the way would also-"

"No." Dr. Jackson and Professor Juniper looked at Mrs. Black who finally spoke. She seemed to be shaking with fear. "No, I almost lost my son once. I'm not going to lose him again. Can't we bring her here? Please don't send him away again…" Jackson and Juniper looked at each other. They totally forgot about Mrs. Black's input to the situation.

"Dina," Juniper said softly, "This is to help your son. Her research facility will probably have the right equipment needed to help your son. I'll make sure he travels in a group."

"Then I'm coming!"

"No." This time, the voice came from Dr. Jackson. "I know this sounds cruel but if you come, it means that he will feel pressure to remembering. Understand that the mind works best when not stressed out." There was a deadly silence before broken again.

"But he's leaving again right?" Dina gasped in despair. "He left before and now it's happening again. I stubbornly believed that he was all right this whole time when he was gone and looked what happened! I don't want to lose him!" She went back to sobbing in her arms. Before Professor Juniper could do anything, Dr. Jackson got up and handed over a box of tissue to Mrs. Black.

"Mrs. Black, have faith in your son. He is very strong and determined boy. I know he'll get his memory back." Alex's mom didn't say anything but continued to sob in silence. However, she didn't seem to have any argument left inside of her and have accepted the result. Jackson got up and gave an 'I'll let you handle the rest' look to Juniper. With that Dr. Jackson left the room.

"Don't worry," Professor Juniper said as well, taking out her green Xtransceiver that was strapped onto her wrist. "My friend will be able to help. Alex will get his memories back in no time."

…

Alex was in a trance as he walked aimlessly down an empty hall. He knew he was moving but his brain couldn't figure out where to. It was as though life was just rushing past him, leaving him behind to figure out the bits of pieces left behind. Of course, that was what he felt like since he couldn't remember. He couldn't recall how emotions felt like to him since he can't remember the last time he had felt them. Even the feeling of remorse and grief still felt new to him as he continued to try to choke his tears back. Somewhere in his mind, there was fear but the feeling felt far away as though in the distant galaxy beyond his reach. Just like his name – Alex.

Alex… the name felt foreign in his mouth still. Everybody could say it with ease, so why can't he?

Alex… Alex… funny how the more time he thought about the name, the more it sounded like he could hear it. It slowly rang louder and clearer the more he thought about it.

"ALEX!" The next thing Alex knew he was being hugged with such force that he crashed to the ground. The IV pole crashed and bounced against the wall. The bewildered boy looked down to see a short blond hair girl hugging with such force. Her green beret fell to the ground next to her. Alex didn't recognize this new stranger but apparently she recognized him. She was sobbing in his arms but from happiness. "Oh Alex it is really you! You're okay! We were so worried about you. Why did you run off like that?" The girl gave a bucktooth smile and Alex couldn't help but notice that she was kind of cute. Still, what was a cute girl like her hugging him for? And more importantly, how did she know his name that he just learned less than thirty minutes ago?

"Of course, Bianca, after crashing into him," another voice, this time a guy, interrupted, "I would say that he'll have to stay in the hospital longer." Alex looked up to see a well groomed guy with sleek short black hair and glasses. His clothes were perfectly creased and clean except the jacket which seemed to have coffee stains on it. The newcomer stooped down to pick up Bianca's hat and gave a smirk at Alex's bewildered face. "Hey Alex, remember us?"

Cheren smiled at his friend's bewildered look as Bianca continued to hug him but then realized something was wrong. The blank stare remained on Alex's face. Surely Alex wasn't that… Okay maybe he was a bit on the dim side, but Alex should've react a bit better. Sure his face was red from embarrassment of being hugged by Bianca but…

"Unfortunately… dude," Alex replied, laughing nervously, "I don't."

…

Somewhere in a distant city not too far from Nuvema Town, a young female scientist was sipping on some steaming hot coffee from a mug while sitting in front of her work table of her lab. Of course, it was against the rules to have beverages in the lab but what the heck? One coffee wouldn't send the lab into oblivion. At least not that she know of. She was taking careful notes onto of an extensive drawing of a Pokemon's exterior appearance. Right now, this particular scientist was having trouble in applying the spiritual and physical part of the Pokemon together into a comprehensive sense onto paper. She took her pencil and started to chew on the end – a bad habit of hers. Maybe she should try writing with a carrot next time. At least carrots were healthier than metal and rubber.

Suddenly, the phone rang right next to her table. The scientist groaned as she pushed her long black hair back to place hold her pencil with her ear and looked at the caller ID to see who was calling her during her work time. She immediately recognized the number and took the call.

"Hey Juniper! How are you?" the scientist thought that her old college wanted to call and reminisce on old time but immediately she realized that that was not the case. "Huh…? My help…? Memory loss? Wait, you think analyzing the boy's dreams through my research will help?"

"You're the only one I know who has extensive data on this study," Juniper said on the other side of the phone, "I remember you wrote a paper once on how Pokemon's dreams connect with the memories. Physical and mental abuse would result in certain types of nightmares while a happy childhood would show childish dreams. You also researched on how the Pokemon's and the human's mind work similar in many ways with the neuron pathways and such."

"But still, asking me to do something I don't even quite understand… wait a minute!" The female scientist immediately dropped the phone and started to rifle through a couple of papers before she found the book she was looking for and opened to a certain page that she marked off. On it was a pink round pig-like Pokemon with purple flower designs on it. After reading the first page, she finally found the passage that she was looking for. This was perfect! Her prayers have been answer. Quickly she grabbed the phone again. "Juniper, there may be something that can help the boy. Huh? What is it? Well you see…"

…

"Huh?" Cheren said, looking a bit taken aback. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes as though trying to wake himself from a dream before putting the glasses back on. "You don't… _wait what_?" Alex looked around as though waiting for help to come but there was no one in the back hallway here.

"Alex," Bianca said, speaking slowly as though she couldn't believe it. She got up and slowly stepped away from Alex as though he was carrying some sort of disease. "Did you call Cheren a-a-a _a 'dude'_?"

"Wait, what does that have to do anything?" Cheren said, sidetracked now.

"Well, Alex never called you a 'dude' before," Bianca said still agape. "He always called you… a 'Smarty Pants', 'Big Brains', 'Scaredy Purrlion'…"

"All right I get it!" Cheren interrupted as Bianca continued to list the names off her fingers. The look on Cheren's face was filled with embarrassment and red.

"Oh is that what your name is," Alex said, looking like he wanted to sink through the ground and never come out. His entire body seemed to be red now from embarrassment as well. "Sorry. Look, I… got to go." As quickly as he could, he got up and ran off, almost tripping on the wire.

"Hold on!" Cheren said, grabbing Alex by the arm. Alex noticed the look in guy's eyes and realized that this guy wasn't going to just take a half-hearten answer. "Alex, what's going on? Why are you acting like you don't know us?"

"Um, seriously," Alex said, trying to remove his arm from Cheren's grip, "I don't… I don't remember you guys."

"Quit playing around," Cheren said, sounding mad for the first time, "What is going on? I'm not in the mood for jokes." Cheren squeezed Alex's arm tighter.

"S-seriously," Alex said, feeling really scared now. He didn't really want to blab out his problems to strangers he didn't know but at the same time they weren't really leaving him alone. "I lost my memories! I don't remember you!" The hallway was now silent. Cheren's grip immediately slackened. His face had nothing but shock now.

"What?" Bianca said, pushing Cheren aside and stared straight into Alex's face. "You forgot about me? About us? That can't be!" Alex didn't have time to respond as Bianca continued. "What's my blood type? When's my birthday? What's my sign? When was I born? How many fingers am I holding up?" She put up three fingers and held them so close to Alex's face that the boy had to lean a bit far away. The poor guy was panicking now. Why was this girl asking him all these personal questions?

"Bianca," Cheren said, pulling the hysterical Bianca away from the speechless and uneasy Alex. "First off, memory loss doesn't include the memory of being able to count. Second, you're scaring Alex. And third off, he doesn't even know the answers to those other questions (well, except that last question). Even if he's your childhood friend, there is no way his brain has the capacity to remember that." Cheren said that last sentence as though he had read Alex's frightened mind.

"Oh that's right…" Bianca said as though she realized this as well and relaxed immediately. Alex didn't know whether to sigh in relief for Cheren saving him or be offended by Cheren's statement. "But Alex," Bianca continued, "Do you seriously not remember?" She took out from her bag a piece of what appeared to be paper. When Bianca handed it over to Alex, the boy realized that it was actually a photograph of three kids. The blond hair girl and black hair boy in the picture looked like the younger version of the girl and guy in front of him. And another brown hair mischievous kid that kind of looks like… Alex looked up and saw that Bianca and Cheren both looked at him as though waiting for some big 'Gotcha!' moment.

Alex didn't say anything. What could he say? There he was, looking at a younger version of himself and he couldn't even remember that this was him. And these two people… they were friends that he couldn't even recognize. "Look, well talk about this later," Cheren said finally, grabbing Alex's arm and pulled him after him. "Let's get to your room first."

"Do you even know where it is?" Alex said sounding surprised. He didn't recall mentioning it to these two people.

"Yeah," Cheren said, pointing his index finger to the temple of his head. "Room 212. The nurse we met earlier mentioned it; I still remember. The only reason we found you wandering around here is because of Bianca's clumsy direction sense."

"Cheren is very smart," Bianca smiled brightly. "Everybody kept saying that he'll be the neurosurgeon while you would probably be working in the sanitation department. Though I don't think that is a compliment for you..." Alex gave back a weak grin. Were these people really his friends?

…

"Professor Juniper?"

"Yes?" The professor looked up to see that it was one of the nurses. The nurse looked slightly frightened and motioned Juniper to come out in the room so that they could talk somewhat away from Mrs. Black. Realizing this, Professor Juniper quickly slipped outside. Mrs. Black didn't even notice for she was still lost in her own sadness.

"What is it?" Juniper whispered after closing the door. The nurse looked around nervously before whispering back.

"Bianca and Cheren had disappeared."

"What? When?"

"I don't know. They were sitting there when suddenly… they were gone."

"Oh great, they probably ran off to find Alex. We need to get to his room and make sure they don't meet each other yet."

"Yeah, that's another problem," the nurse's mouth moved strangely as though she was trying to chew her tongue. "Alex is not in his room either."

"WHAT?" Juniper exclaimed before realizing she was really loud and immediately soften her voice. "Oh great, now we have three people running around."

"Actually four," the nurse corrected. "The girl's father… he's on a rampage now." Juniper groaned and sank to ground. Now it turned from a problem and into a nightmare.

…

"This is your room?" Bianca gasped, "Wow, it's so clean!" She immediately started to look around the room like it was some precious art museum.

"Enough Bianca, we didn't come here to analyze the hospital; we're here to talk to Alex." Cheren noticed that Alex was still staring at the picture as though finding a lost piece of his life (which was what he literally found). Carefully, the boy put it onto the table delicately. Cheren felt uneasy as he looked at Alex who continued to stare at the picture as though he could not take his eyes off of it. Cheren didn't really know what to say to his friend who couldn't even recognize him. It was as though everything they had was gone and needed to start with a new clean slate. Except the slate wasn't clean… for the memories were there… just simply hastily wiped away so that the stains were still left behind.

"Cheren! Look, a present for Alex!" Cheren and Alex looked up to see Bianca holding a giant blue gift wrapped present tied with a green ribbon. She held it high above her head. "Come on let's open it up!"

"Oh wait," Alex said, realizing what Bianca was holding, "That's not-."

"Bianca, wait!" Cheren said as Bianca ripped of the wrapping paper, "We really shouldn't-!" Suddenly Bianca squealed very loudly when she opened the lid. "Cheren! Alex! Look!" Without giving a chance for the boys to protest, Bianca shoved the box into their hands. Alex and Cheren looked to see three Poke balls.

"Professor Juniper wanted to give it to us!" Bianca said excitedly.

"Bianca," Cheren sighed, wondering why he had to act like the parent again. "Professor Juniper probably wanted-."

"Cool!" Alex exclaimed, forgetting everything already and pushed Cheren to the side. "These are for us?"

"Hold on a sec Alex!" Cheren exclaimed but his two friends were already lost in their own world.

"Yeah!" Bianca said, her eyes shining with happiness as though Christmas just came twice in a row. "See three. One, two, and three! We were all supposed to start our journey today but you-" Bianca's bubbly smile immediately evaporated and Alex realized that he (once again) had done something stupid that got someone angry –"You ran off before any of us!" She pouted and though she tried to look mad, it just made her look pouty cute.

"Ohhh," Bianca was now stomping her feet as though she can't decide what to do, "I can't stay mad now when we're finally together. Here!" She took out the Poke balls and thrust them into Alex's arms. The box fell to the ground. "You get first choice!"

"What?"

"WHAT?" Cheren exclaimed, sounding angry. "Bianca, we should wait for Professor Juniper?"

"Oh come on," Bianca rolled her eyes; "We've been waiting for more than a week. I say we should just go ahead and choose which one we want. It's not like she is making the decision as to which Pokemon we get."

"But we need the professor's permission first."

"But the sooner we get our Pokemon, the sooner we can leave." Ah ha. Cheren finally realized what Bianca was really planning.

"Oh I see," Cheren said grinning. "You want to hurry up and leave without your dad knowing."

"Don't say it like that," Bianca frowned, shushing him. "You make it sound like I'm the bad guy."

"Hahaha," Alex laughed, "the way you guys talk make it sound like you're a couple."

"WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!" Bianca and Cheren yelled at the same time. The sudden outburst caused Alex to jump in surprise and drop the Poke balls.

"NO!" Cheren exclaimed and reached out his arm but it was too late. The Poke balls opened upon impact against the ground and three brilliant lights flashed. By the time Alex, Bianca, and Cheren managed to open their eyes, there stood three puzzled Pokemon on the ground; all wondering why they were dropped in such a way.

One was a green looking serpent with a green leaf fan-like tail and small legs and arms. It's large amber color eyes stared back, slightly disdainful as though wondering who dared to disturb it. The one next to the green serpent was a pig Pokemon. It was red with cute black ears and a curly tail. It blinked and then suddenly sneezed, causing a puff of black smoke to blow out of its pig snout's nostrils. The third one was a blue otter Pokemon. It had a white head and a blue body. There was a yellow shell stuck in front of the Pokemon's tummy area. It had a upside down v-shape looking frown on its face from confusion of its surroundings.

"Oh oops," Bianca said, though she didn't look too horrified like Cheren – the poor guy seemed to have frozen and died from shock. She started to wave her hand in front of Cheren. "Hellooooo? Anyone in there?"

"All right!" Alex said grinning ignoring everything else except the Pokemon in front of him. He crouched down so that he was eye level with the three Pokemon. "Hi my name is Alex. So nice to meet you three." The three Pokemon merely stared back. "Let's see," Alex muttered as though trying to make sure he got it right. He looked over at the green-serpent like Pokemon. "You're Snivy – the grass type starter. By absorbing sunlight from its tail, Snivy can become more powerful and sharpen its moves and abilities." Snivy observed Alex before giving an approving nod, causing the boy to grin. He then turned to Tepig who was sniffling as though suffering from a cold.

"And Tepig is the fire starter. Usually fire is shot out from its snout but I'm guessing you're sick since only smoke comes out." The pig replied back with a nod and another sneeze of smoke. "Don't worry, just remember to take it easy and stay away from dust." The pig sniffled as Alex petted it. But before Tepig could get comfortable, the poor pig was immediately pushed by the third and final Pokemon. Apparently, it wanted to have the spotlight now.

"Oh you're… you're…" Alex paused a moment as though trying to remember. For a moment while Alex was trying to think, the poor water Pokemon froze in horror. This boy knew the other two but not it? "Oh yeah, Oshawott – the water type starter! The shell on the stomach is detachable and can be used as a sword, shield, or even a boomerang. A very versatile fighter… Err are you okay?" Alex just realized that the poor Pokemon was still in shock mode like Cheren was. It took a while for the water starter to recover but immediately puffed out its chest proudly.

"Alex…" Bianca said, amazed, "You still know this stuff?"

"Huh?" Alex said, looking up and confused. Now that he thought about it… "Hey you're right… how did I know this stuff?"

"The-the stuff you said…" Bianca said, "You were always sprouting Pokemon information. Everyday when we were little you would hang out at the library and read up on Pokemon facts."

"Wow," Alex said amazed. "So I am smart!"

"Eh hem," Cheren coughed in interruption. He seemed to manage to unfreeze at the word 'smart'. "Actually, you're only smart in one subject – Pokemon battling and training. I wouldn't say you're smart all the way because all you did was-"

"I'm still smart!" Alex said again, interrupting Cheren. Alex's muddy brown eyes were filled with excitement that hasn't been seen for a long time. "I was worried that I was dumb this whole time but I'm not! Isn't that great?"

"Yes it is!" Bianca replied back; she was glad to see Alex acting his usual self. Cheren groaned. Again, he was ignored. Still he couldn't help but smile inwardly. This was just like old times. Maybe things won't change between the three of them. Oshawott was jumping merrily at the sight of Alex's positive attitude. However, Oshawott was soon knocked down by Tepig who was furious for being rudely pushed earlier. Feeling angry now, Oshawott replied with a slap with its shell. Tepig sneezed; causing a cloud of smoke to blast in front of Oshawott's face and making it look like it had suddenly been painted gray.

There was immediately a small brawl as the water and fire starter started to fight. They both tumbled around back and forth like rowdy two year olds. Snivy on the other hand sighed and looked away, turning its nose high up into the air. It was way too sophisticated to be interested. Unfortunately, Oshawott's shell missed Tepig and instead hit Snivy's head, causing it to get angry and joined in the brawl as well.

"Stop fighting!" Cheren said; he tried to divide the three apart though that really didn't do anything. Instead, he had gotten 'slapped', 'shelled', and 'snouted'.

On the other hand, Alex looked hyped up. "All right! Do your best! May the strongest Pokemon win!"

"Come on! Go! Go! Go!" Bianca joined in.

"Don't encourage them to fight!" Cheren exclaimed at his two friends' poor behaviors. Of course, none of them listened again to the smart and sensible one of the group. Finally the three Pokemon starters, all sweaty and weary, collapsed to the ground.

"Awww, good fight guys. We'll finish this up once you guys are healed," Alex said, picking up the three Pokemon and giving them all a giant Alex-size hug. They were like little stuff animals except they could breath. He led them to his bed and sat down.

"Professor Juniper is going to kill us," Cheren said, imagining the horror of the authority.

"You worry too much," Bianca said, looking unconcerned. "Besides, what is the worst thing she could do?"

"Don't you remember? She said that she'll feed Alex into a tank of Krokorok!"

"Oh come on you don't actually think she'll do that. I mean, she probably wouldn't even do it now since Alex is still in the hospital. Right Alex?" Bianca turned to look at her friend but to her surprise, she found Alex fast asleep on the hospital bed. He was breathing heavily as though in deep dreams. Still cuddled in his arms were the three starter Pokemon. They looked exhausted after their heated battle and were fast asleep as well.

"Amazing; he is still able to fall asleep so fast," Cheren said shaking his head. Bianca on the other hand went over and grabbed one of the sheets and pulled it over the sleeping boy.

"Do you really think he had forgotten everything?" Bianca whispered. Cheren didn't really respond and decided to say something else.

"I think its best if we leave for now. I mean we still need to prepare for our trip."

"Not without Alex we're not!" Bianca said, wide eyed. "We finally found him. Besides we promise to leave together!"

"He doesn't look like he is in good condition to go," Cheren said wisely. "Besides, if it is really true… his memories… then they'll probably make him stay here until they can some what get them back."

"Well in that case, we'll wait for him!"

"Wait Alex for what?" a gruff voice barked out.

"EEK!" Bianca squealed. Cheren turned around and saw that it was Bianca's dad. He was panting slightly and his bald head was shiny from sweat. It seemed that he had been running through the entire hospital looking for them. He did not look please. That man need to stop sneaking up on them like that! Cheren's heart was racing again.

"Bianca, is what I heard true? Were you planning to sneak off on a Pokemon journey?" the man asked though his tone made it sound like there could only be one answer. Bianca was literally shaking with fright. The only person who doesn't seem to be concern with the situation was Alex but since he was asleep…

Cheren realized that they were in so much trouble that they might as well be dead.

One thing for sure, they definitely will be able to wait for Alex to get better… maybe even longer than that before they manage to be officially 'ungrounded'.

**Author's Notes**

Well, now. I wonder what's going to happen next…

Man, Alex is so greedy, taking all those Pokemon for himself. Lol. Jkjk.

Oh yes, a question for the readers. How would you like to read a bonus chapter of this story? It would pertain to Alex's, Bianca's, and Cheren's childhood. If I write the bonus chapter the next real chapter will be put on hold longer though.

Okay, remember to those who want to submit an OC, my forum has the guidelines.

Let's thank my reviewers before I go.

…

**N the puppet**

**Ketchum Kid**

**Light-Sakura**

**littlmidget123**

**Dreadly Rise**

**goldw1993**

**Trainer-Ken**

**AshleyTro** (thanks for your review. I appreciate it. :D)

**Sparky**

…

Well, that's it from me.

See you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	6. Starting a Journey and a Ceremony

**Disclaimer: I can't own Pokemon. So there.**

Okay… well, that was certainly a long time since the last update. Again, I apologize but I've been kind of lazy. Lol.

Anyways, this chapter is a bit short but still, enjoy!

**Chapter 5:**

Alex didn't remember when he fell asleep but he certainly did remember being violently woken up by roars of yells. He jolted up as though being doused by a bucket of cold water and almost crashed to the ground. The three starter Pokemon flew out as well and landed rather unpleasantly onto the ground like stuffed Pokedolls. The three rubbed their heads and back as they looked questioningly at Alex.

"So you were planning to run away from home without telling me? FORGET IT! YOU ARE GROUNDED TILL THE DAY YOU DIEEEE!" Alex groaned (hoping that threat wasn't directed to him) as he got up and rubbed his head. When he managed to get his eyes to focus, Alex saw a strange bald and short man who was red in the face and was screaming at that cute girl (what was her name again? Oh yes… Bianca).

Alex noticed, however, that Bianca didn't seem to be scared at all. In fact, she seemed to be just as mad and towered over her short angry father. Cheren, on the other hand, was cowering at the wall while still trying to look professional doing it. None of them had noticed that Alex woken up or the fact that he was watching them with great interest.

"You're not the BOSS OF MEEEEE! Even Cheren agrees that I should go!" Bianca pointed to Cheren whose face turned into a horrified look as Bianca's dad (at least that's what Alex is assuming for he had no idea who this random stranger was) turned to stare at him.

"Sir, I understand your concerns for your daughter but I do believe that…" Cheren faltered in words when he realized that Bianca's dad was staring back at his daughter.

"NO, absolutely not! I forbid you! I don't care even if Cheren agrees with you!" He was literally spraying spit now. Alex couldn't but stare at this confrontation with confusion. What was going on? Where was Bianca going that her father didn't want her to go? And why were they yelling?

"You can't forbid me!" Bianca retorted back, "I can do whatever I want! You're not the boss of me!"

"You're not ready for the outside world!"

"Yes, I AMMMMMM!"

"No, you're NOTTTTT!" Before Bianca could do anything else much less start sputtering out another roar of frustration, the door slammed open and everybody's head turned to see a very angry chubby nurse. She was holding the clipboard as though she was ready to smack one of them with it.

"THIS IS A HOSPITAL!" the nurse roared. Her face was beet red and Alex could see a vein popping out of her forehead. Alex and Cheren winced at the yelling. "PLEASE STOP SHOUTING THIS INSTANT! THERE ARE OTHER PATIENTS HERE WHO ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!"

"Um, you're kind of shouting too," Cheren mumbled, but the nurse had already slammed the door shut with a loud BOOM. There was an awkward silence and Bianca said in a soft but shaky tone. Alex then realized that Bianca was close to tears. She had been trying to hold back this whole time.

"I'm going. And I don't care what you tell me." With that, Bianca stormed to the door and wrenched it open. "I hate you daddy! You're such a jerk!" With that, the girl slammed the door shut, leaving an awkward group of people together.

"Bianca, wait!" Cheren said, quickly leaving the room as well. Alex awkwardly got up and grabbed the three Pokemon who were all confused and a little bit frightened. Alex felt really bad for the girl and wanted to go after her as well. Something in Alex's gut told him that he had to do something. Alex tried to slowly make his way to the door but suddenly, like a towering robot, the man turned to Alex who immediately flinched with horror. Even the three starter Pokemon had the same horror look on their faces.

"YOU! This is all _your_ fault!" Well that was certainly a calm and proper way to greet someone.

"M-my fault?" Alex repeated, gapping. "How is this my fault?" He felt slightly irritated now. Why was everybody ganging up on him today? Of course, he wouldn't feel insulted if he remembered why it was his fault in the first place. The three starter Pokemon looked slightly mad at this man in front of them as though he was insulting them as well.

"You brought the idea of traveling around the world and battling trainers into my daughter's head! Always getting her into trouble with your stupid explorations! You almost gotten her killed before! What do you have to say for yourself?" Alex winced as spit sprayed everywhere. It seemed he caused a lot of trouble in his past. No wonder why that Professor Juniper person looked as though she wanted to kill him earlier.

"Well, seeing how I lost my memories, I have no idea how to answer that question." The man's mouth hung wide open and Alex could tell that this was definitely new information for this man. Of course, ever since he came into Alex's room, all Bianca's dad did was interrogating his daughter to the point where they started to have a shouting war.

"Y-you lost your memories?"

"Yes," Alex said slowly. Bianca's father fell silent and Alex looked at his bare feet. What could he say?

"I'm… sorry," the man said finally. He didn't really know what to say in a situation like this and Alex couldn't blame him.

"It's all right," Alex shrugged his shoulders. Then as though by some miracle, the door opened and in stepped Professor Juniper. Alex almost flinched in surprise. The last time he saw her when she was talking to his… Alex couldn't even bring that word up in his mind.

"Mr. Brooks," Professor Juniper said; her voice was sharp and biting. "I need you to leave the room. I need to speak to Alex… alone… Wait hold on! Alex! Why are my starter Pokemon out?" It was amazing how her facial expression could turn from annoyance to sheer anger in less than a second.

Oh snap, Alex thought, realized that he was still holding the Pokemon who were squirming around restless. He couldn't really say that they were accidentally released.

"Urgh, it doesn't matter right now. I'll deal with this later since I have more important stuff to discuss. Mr. Brook?" The man nodded and, after another bewildered glance at Alex, hurried and left. Again, another painful and uneasy silence filled the room. Professor Juniper took the three Poke balls that were lying on the floor and then took the Pokemon from Alex's arms. Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott stood there, all slightly ashamed for their behaviors, as Professor Juniper returned them. She then returned them back into the blue colored wrapped box.

"Professor," Alex said in a hurry, wanting to speak up. "What happened was-."

"I take it you met Bianca and Cheren," Professor Juniper said, noticing the photo on the table. She picked it up and flipped it over so that Alex could see the picture of three young kids, smiling and laughing without a care in the world. "I take it that it was quite a shock."

"Yes," Alex muttered. It pained Alex a lot to look at this picture that he looked away. Professor Juniper gave a strange look at Alex before placing the picture into something bulky and heavy. She then threw this thing for Alex to catch. After stumbling from the surprise weight, he looked down to see that it was a dark blue shoulder bag with a thick black strap.

"Your backpack," the woman explained. "Everything you need for your travel is in there. Well, everything that you had packed is still there as well." Perplexed, Alex opened the flap and unzipped the bag. There was the picture that Juniper placed in, a folded map, a thick spiral notebook with a pencil, a black case, and a Poke ball. The case was the first thing that Alex took out and when he opened it, he saw eight empty holes that were each in different designs.

"That's a badge case," Juniper explained when Alex didn't seem to be able to comprehend. "You hold-."

"Badges that you receive from gym leaders," Alex said immediately as though reciting from a textbook. "There are eight gym leaders in total, each specializing in a certain type of Pokemon. After receiving eight badges, the trainer can then challenge the Elite Four and become the Pokemon Champion of the region." Alex looked up and immediately realized that Professor Juniper was staring at him with quite a bit of shock. It slowly dawned on Alex as to why. "Ummm, did I just say all that?"

"Amazing," Professor Juniper muttered putting her hand to her head as though she couldn't believe it. "So you are still able to retain some information in that thick skull of yours."

I don't know if she's praising or insulting me, Alex thought as Juniper got up, looking serious. She had her hands on her hips and looked rather intimidating.

"Listen up, a friend of mine has a possible solution for you memory loss." This seemed to wake up Alex. For a moment, he wondered if he had hallucinated.

"R-really?"

"Of course," Juniper said, relived that Alex looked slightly joyful now.

"So… so my memories…?"

"Will come back to you," Juniper finished Alex's sentence. The professor could tell that the boy was feeling relieved. A sense of sadness that clouded his eyes had disappeared. This was great! Alex wouldn't feel like he was a burden anymore. He could finally get back to the way it was before all this happened. And maybe… maybe his mother wouldn't have to cry like that anymore…

"Of course, now that you met Bianca and Cheren, it would only be natural that you would travel with your friends."

"W-what?" Alex gaped.

"I'm pretty sure you heard from your friends that you guys were suppose to be traveling together to complete the job I gave you guys." Professor Juniper took something from her pocket and held it up like a cell phone. The mysterious thing turned out to be… "This is the Pokedex you took from me and left without my permission. It was damaged quite a bit."

"Oh," Alex realized that this was the reason why Professor Juniper wanted to kill him earlier. "I-I'm sorry for that…"

"Forget it," Professor Juniper said, waving her free hand in the air as though to say no big deal, "You don't seem to remember anything so I'm going to let you off."

"Oh I see," Alex said, sighing in relief.

"After you get your memories back," Professor Juniper continued on. This time, she gave an ominous and killing intent, "I'll be sure that the next time we meet, you'll be dunked into a tank full of Krokorok." Alex's face immediately turned into horror. Now he wasn't even sure that he wanted to go get his memories back.

"Anyways, I fixed the Pokedex despite the fact that you literally broken it. You're going to need it while traveling with your friends." It took a while for Alex to register the words. When he did, he immediately felt choked up.

"Y-you… you mean… I get to travel with my friends?"

"You didn't think I was just going to make you stay here in the hospital? I figure a bit of walking would do some good for you. At least I brought the Pokemon for you guys to choose from." Juniper walked over and handed the Pokedex which Alex gratefully accepted with both of his hands. "Just remember to not run away like before."

Alex grinned sheepishly but he felt his entire body was quivering with excitement. He was going on his own journey! He was getting his memories back as well! Everything was going back to the way it should be.

"Alex? Are you… crying?" Alex flinched as he suddenly realized that tears were sliding down his face. That was strange. He didn't even notice that it happened until Professor Juniper pointed it out.

"I-I don't understand," Alex muttered as he touched his tears with his hand. "Th-this is so weird…" He quickly wiped it off and shook his head as though to clear his mind. He needed to snap out of it. He couldn't look weak now of all days. Alex then quickly put on another smile. "Anyways, I'm so excited!" He immediately started to jump around; holding the Pokedex like it was some sort of precious passport. It was as though all of his energy came surging back. "ALL RIGHT!"

"If you weren't then something is definitely wrong with you," Professor Juniper said, a little bit relieved that Alex was acting a bit like his usual self (well usual as in he wasn't sounding depressed the entire time).

"I'll tell Cheren and Bianca to get in here," Juniper continued as she watched Alex continue to dance around. She nodded to the pile of fresh clothes on the table. On top was the red and white baseball cap with a black Poke ball logo in the front. The clothes were the same one that Alex had worn when he was found in the forest. "Get dressed before I come back." She then took the blue present that contained the three starter Pokemon. "I'll keep on eye on these, since I feel better keeping them with me."

"Wait, what about…" Alex fell silent, wondering how to say this without admitting that he had snooped earlier. "What about my… parents? Are they okay with it?" Juniper fell silent. She could feel her own heart pounding with fear. Great now what? She thought Alex would've been so excited with the journey that this question wouldn't come up.

"Just… just get dressed." With that Juniper closed the curtains around Alex's hospital bed before she left. Alex felt slightly disheartened with the answer. He should have expected something like this but still…

Wait, what was he doing? He shouldn't be down like this when he's going to get his memory back soon. He shouldn't act like this. He was going on a journey! There was no time to act sad. With that Alex quickly grabbed his black t-shirt and blue jacket. He couldn't wait and his excitement was exploding.

…

Bianca was marching down the hall. She had been sobbing for a good ten minutes in the girl's bathroom. Cheren obviously didn't go in but he did pound on the door, asking for her to out. Of course, she didn't and Cheren had no choice but to wait outside. Still, Bianca wasn't going to just sit around and let her father have his way. If there was one trait she got from her father, it was his stubbornness. She was going to figure out a way to go on that journey whether her father liked it or not!

"Bianca! Hey Bianca!" Cheren called, running to catch up with her. "Calm down! Here, drink some of this." Cheren had two plastic cups of cold water. Bianca took one of them and immediately drained it. She felt slightly better though she was still breathing in and out in frustration. "Look, everything is going to be okay. We can try and reason with your father later…"

"Reason?" Bianca said, laughing as though Cheren just made a joke. She waved both of her hands around like she was trying to get rid of some bug Pokemon that was flying over her head. "Does my father look like the kind of man who would listen to reason?"

"Well…" Cheren didn't really know what to say. "Look, its best not to argue with your father…"

"Cheren!" Bianca said, turning to him with sad Lillipup eyes. "You're on my side right?"

"Well… yeah," Cheren muttered, feeling really uneasy. He didn't want to get into the argument between his friend and her father. That's family business that he didn't need to butt in. "Look, your father is just concern about you…"

"It's always like this isn't it?" Bianca said, fuming. "You say that you agree with me but you side with my father anyways!"

"Bianca," Cheren sighed, not wanting to deal with Bianca's explosion. He was trying hard to approach this situation calmly. "Don't you think asking me to get in between with you and your father is a little bit-?"

"You know what?" Bianca said, still mad, "You're a jerk too Cheren!" With that she threw the cup to the ground and ran off. Her footsteps were echoing in the hall.

"Bianca! Wait! I'm sorry!" But Bianca refused to slow down or even look back. She was in such a furious mood that she could hardly see where she was going. In fact, she was in such a hurry that she knocked into someone, sending something flying everywhere. Both of them crashed to the ground.

"Bianca!" Bianca looked up to see Professor Juniper, rubbing her head in pain. "What in the world are you doing?" Bianca didn't respond. She saw that in front of her was the blue present that contained three Poke balls. Miraculously, none of them had opened from such impact.

Bianca immediately flashed through all of her memories of frustrations with her father. She was sick and tired of following her father's orders. She remembered how Alex was so brave – always taking charge. He voiced and defended his opinion unlike Cheren who tried to be neutral all the time. And the way Alex just left without slightest hestitation… well, this time, Bianca was taking a leaf out of Alex's book. She was going to take charge with her own life. With that, Bianca thrust her hand into the box and grabbed one of the Poke balls.

"Sorry Professor Juniper!" With that Bianca got up and ran away.

"Bianca!" Professor Juniper yelled. "Get back here this instant! Give me back that Poke ball!" But Bianca didn't hear and continued to run. She clutched with both hands on the Poke ball and held it close to her heart. She could feel her heart racing, partly from fear but mostly with excitement. She was going on her own Pokemon journey! And nothing was stopping her.

…

In the depths of a certain city…

Despite the ancient feel the castle gave with its stained glass walls and marble walls, it was surrounded by large steel-like fences. Lights was shining everywhere against the darkness of the night sky that even the stars couldn't shine any brighter. No one could get in or out without being noticed by the guards that stood outside. Today was an important day for a ceremony was being held.

The grand hallway was decorated with a large blue carpet with golden lace on the fringe. The room was exceptionally dark had not been the Victorian windows that are placed around this chapel like room streamed in powerful light, giving the room a sort of godly feeling. Guards stood at each of the numerous archways though were hidden in the shadows as though they didn't want to be seen.

Six figures, three on each side of the thick blue carpet, bowed low though none dared to touch the carpet despite the fact the cold marble floor was hurting their knees. They all wore similar fashioned dusty Hospitaller tunic that covered their entire body and a jewel-like broach to clasp the top. They each wore a small cap on the top of their head. Despite the eerie looks these men gave off, they were easily distinguished by the different color of the robes and the different lengths of their white hair, mustache, and beard.

Finally, the large grand door opened with a boom, ending the silence. Slowly, a mysterious man walked down the carpet. Despite the large limelight he was engulfed in, his body was still in the shadows. His feet touched the ground with a shuffling sound and his ridiculously large purple and yellow robes dragged against the floor. He seemed to be wearing some sort of accessory in the shape of a crown that revolved around his upper body so that it made him look like he was wearing a oddly shaped castle. In both his hands, which he held in front of his face, was a large golden crown that glittered in the light. The six men already in the room bowed even lower, their heads almost touching the ground. After climbing a couple of small steps, the mysterious man reached the end of the hallway where a large glittering golden throne stood. He turned around to face his pitiful audience in such a large hallway.

"Today!" His voice boomed and echoed in the room. "Today, is an important day for all of us!" These words brought excitement in the room. "We shall crown our new king! The king to rule this castle!" The mysterious man turned to the open door and in came in another man. His white robes were flowing and glittered in the light and were carried by two women who wore white robes as well.

One woman had long purple hair with long bangs. She wore two thick bracelets, one on each hand. The other had short blond hair with the front cut to the shape of the butterfly. She wore square-like bracelets that jangled on her wrists. Both of them had a serene look on their faces as if they were enjoying quietly ever step that they took. Behind these two beautiful women were an army of medieval knights (both men and women) who had black long sleeve tunics and wore blue hood, boot tops, and gauntlets. They had a white surcoat over their tunic with their coat of arms on the chest. Their coat of arms was a shield that was half white and half black and in the center, a color 'P' that was decorated liked a blue lightning. This strange group seemed to be unfazed by the out-of-date outfits they were wearing as they marched forward. They all had a proud look on their face as they watched their white robed leader silently walked forward.

Again, like the first man, this newcomer's face was hidden by shadows as he looked down at the ground. Despite the fact that his eyes were closed, this man seemed to be able to walk in a perfectly straight line without hesitation. However, everyone could still see his thick flowing hair that seemed to sparkle in the light. Slowly he walked forward, taking every step with ease. Despite the calmness of this man, everybody else was close to bursting with excitement and seemed to be rather infectious as it spread in the area. They watched on bated breath as the man took one step and then another and then another.

The large man at the throne raised his hands into the air once more; the golden crown still glittered in the light. When the mysterious younger man approached the throne, he turned around and opened his dull green eyes to face his audience; carefully, the crown was placed upon his head as though it was meant to be there. It amplified the importance of this simple dressed person. Immediately everybody stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Behold! The new king of Team Plasma!" The older man roared, raising his hands into the air. His purple and yellow cloak sparkled in the light. A roar of approval rose in the air. The mysterious newly crowned young man, however, merely looked blankly back at the crowd. He didn't give a sign of acknowledgement of his supporters. It was simply a ceremony, the initiation of ruling was more important than this. The next plan was ready. The purpose of this organization will be declared!

**Author's Notes**

Hmm, well now, looks like things will get interesting.

I'm literally killing you guys in not telling you guys who gets what Pokemon huh? Don't worry, all will be reveal in the next chapter. I promise the next one will be longer. Hey, we'll even get to see a whole bunch of new characters (hint, hint) and maybe an OC or two.

Also, in the previous chapter, I mentioned a bonus chapter. I've decided to hold it off later until I got more in depth with the storyline. I figure this is for the best.

For those who finished playing BW, any ideas where the ceremony above takes place? I've been trying to find information but no luck.

Hopefully, updates overall will be faster.

Anyways, let's thank my reviewers before I go.

…

**Ketchum Kid**

**Trainer-Ken**

**Pikajenn**

**Light-Sakura**

**ZXCVBNMEM**

**littlmidget123**

**N the puppet**

**Ashley Tro **(thanks for the review and input! :D)

**goldw1993**

**Hords Ramen** (lol. Actually I've already planned which Pokemon they would get though I appreciate the suggestion. That would be funny. Not telling who gets what yet. XP)

**KoreanoWaltz**

**Pokegirl360 **(well the next update is now. Sorry for the delay. I know how frustrating it can be to wait for the next chapter. I do have other stories to update as well so it is a bit difficult to juggle each one.)

**Jarkes**

**Anon no account **(Anon, if you want to submit an OC, please follow the guidelines I have on my forum. I will not accept OC in any other form. The forum's website is on my profile page. Thanks.)

**dewdrop6** (thanks so much for the review. I appreciate the comments. Yes, Alex needs a lot of hugs. Lol.)

…

All right that's it from me guys. I'll see you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	7. A Promise I Made to Myself

**Diclaimer: Gobble, gobble, gobble! (Translation: I don't own Pokemon.)**

Hey guys! I finally manage another update! :D

And on the most important day for me to stuff myself with turkey and guilt-free.

I'm so sorry it took so long and I'm grateful you managed to find the patience to wait. And great news! Next update will come up regardless of the order of my other stories. Think of it as a double update or bonus. :D

I would like to thank **SinCityAssassin **for agreeing to be my beta reader. I appreciate the help.

Also, important news in my **Author ****Notes** so please be sure to read them. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT!

Enjoy the chapter. And for those who celebrate it, have a good Thanksgiving! If not, be thankful that there is a Thanksgiving holiday or else I wouldn't be able to update. XP

**Chapter 6:**

Alex stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His brown hair continued to look messy, despite combing it several times, as the tips of his hair curled outward. He cocked his head to the side annoyed, wondering if there was anything to make his hair nicer. He wouldn't usually take care of his looks, but he felt that today would an important day… at least important enough to make sure he looked all right. He didn't want to give any more bad impressions toward Professor Juniper, especially on the start of his Pokémon journey.

After combing a few more times, Alex gave up with a sigh and finished dressing. He grabbed the thin, light and dark blue color jacket the Professor had given him and wore it over his short-sleeve black t-shirt. He already had on his grayish long cargo pants and his red trainer shoes. He put on the red cap that had a black Poke ball logo in the front; he adjusted the rim of the hat quite fashionably over his eyes.

_Still, __it's __weird_, Alex thought as he looked at himself in the mirror. He still couldn't get use to the fact that the person in front of the mirror was, well, himself. Alex didn't flinch anymore when he saw his reflection but he still has that uneasy feeling of trying to remember who the stranger in the mirror was.

_Don't __worry,_ Alex reminded to himself. He was going to get his memory back and this entire nightmare would be over. He should be able to come out with a genuine smile on his face next time, and he hoped his reflection would have one too.

Hurried door knocks from outside his room jolted Alex out of his thoughts, and by the time he went to the door they escalated into door slams. He opened it to reveal the agitated Pokémon professor.

"_Alex_," Professor Juniper said sharply. Alex flinched at the sight of her face; if looks could kill, she'd be committing a double homicide, _on__ a __single __person_. Great, now what did he do? "Did Bianca come by here?" Alex stared blankly at her, processing the sudden question and slowly shook his head.

"N-no, is something wrong?" Professor Juniper frowned, slightly frustrated. Alex saw that Cheren was standing behind the professor. Unlike her though, Cheren was quiet and visibly stoic with his hand on his chin; he seemed to be contemplating some options in this situation.

"Great, so she did leave the hospital," Juniper sighed, "Her father is on a rampage now; I don't know what's worse – him yelling obscenities in the hospital or him chasing after his daughter."

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Alex finally asked, confused by the information.

"What's going on? _What's__ going __on?_" Juniper repeated Alex's question back at him and laughed hollowly. "Your friend Bianca had decided to take a leaf out of your book and ran off with one of my starters." It took a while for Alex to process this. He must be missing something because he wasn't freaking out like the professor was expecting him to.

"Okaaaaay, is this a bad thing?"

"Of course it is!" Juniper said, sounding frantic now, "Bianca took off with one of my starter Pokémon! Good Grief! I try to make sure you don't run off with one again and now _she_ ran off with one! She didn't even take get her Pokedex, so I can't even track her down!" Juniper clenched her hands while forcing down the urge to wring someone's neck. After taking a couple of deep breaths, she calmed down. It was amazing how fast she could change pace.

"Now what to do, Bianca's father still thinks she's in the hospital, but it won't take too long before he finds out she's gone. We need to find her at all costs, no matter what."

"Umm, surely we don't need to make this a manhunt… err I mean girl… hunt…" Alex mumbled.

"Professor, I think you should leave this situation to us," Cheren interjected quickly, finally speaking up. "If you think about it, Bianca obviously left to go on her Pokémon journey without her dad's consent. She might be a bit clumsy, but she is determined. I'm sure she's okay for now. And if Alex and I leave now, we might be able to catch up with her in Accumula Town and if not, we'll catch her in Striaton City."

"I don't know," the professor said slowly, unsure about his proposal.

"Besides," Cheren added, "She trusts us more."

Alex stared curiously at Cheren with his cool logic. Boy, the guy looked smart, and he definitely backs it up. His calmness and logical thinking gave him respect from adults like Professor Juniper.

_How __in __the __world__ did__ I __make __friends __with__ a __guy__ like __that?_ Alex wondered as he rubbed his head in confusion. He remembered being described as a troublemaker while Cheren seemed like a model student.

"Well, Bianca was determined to leave, and like you said before, she is pretty stubborn, probably as much as he was," Juniper made a quick gesture towards Alex, who didn't seem to catch it.

"Are you sure she will listen to you? Are you willing to bring her back and let her face the consequences?"

"We will do our best, Professor Juniper," Cheren finished, his face showed his own determination, "Trust me at least, if not Alex."

"Hey!" Alex retorted, realizing the miniscule importance he had in the conversation. Professor Juniper took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. Her panic eyes seemed to be more relaxed now and were now in deep thought as she carefully analyzed the situation. "Okay, perhaps you're right." Professor Juniper said quickly took the sad looking present box out. Its ribbon was torn and dented at one side when Bianca knocked it to the ground.

"Here, you guys," Juniper said, handing the Poke balls Cheren. "Not very ceremonial like I planned but given the circumstances…"

Cheren opened both Poke balls at the same time and two flashes of light came out at the same time and landed on the floor.

"Oh! Oshawott and Snivy!" Alex exclaimed and grinned as when the light faded and revealed the Pokémon. The two looked at each other in confusion as they noticed their companion wasn't there.

"So I guess Bianca has the Tepig," Alex said thoughtfully as he remembered the sneezing red pig from the roster. Hopefully, they can all meet up again. He directed this sight toward Cheren, "So… How should we decide who will be our partner? Paper, scissor, rock?"

"Don't be ridiculous! We'll have to analyze these Pokémon to find out which one more compatible to whom." Cheren said, as if he was working on a lab experiment. "If we take the nature of the Pokémon and our personality into account, we can study their behavioral patterns and find out if…"

Cheren slowed his tract to a halt when he saw the water Pokémon walk over to Alex, puffing out its chest proudly, not interested in Cheren's words. "Oshawott!" The little Pokémon cried out.

"Well I guess I'll be taking Oshawott then!" Alex said grinning. "It seems to like me a lot,"

The little water Pokémon giggled and jumped with joy and Alex held out his hand and gave it a high five. "Besides," Alex added, "I think Snivy's taken a liking for you," he pointed at the grass snake Pokémon that moved toward Cheren without a single sound. Oshawott tried to engage with it in a conversation now that they have trainers, but the grass snake Pokémon proudly turned its head away. "Besides, I think the Pokémon know what's best, so I think we should trust their judgment as well."

Cheren just stared at Alex, not saying a word until he gave a small smirk, "You're still the same even if you don't know it, well…"

"Huh?"

"Excuse me," Juniper spoke up, grabbing their attention. "We're wasting precious time, here," she said as she gave two Pokedexes to Cheren. "One of them is for you Cheren. Give the other one to Bianca when you get the chance. You guys better hurry and get out of here. Cheren, you've already called your parents to let them know to drop off your stuff, correct? Meet us at the front. I need to speak to Alex alone for a bit."

"All right," Cheren said. He glanced at Alex without saying anything before he left the room, his new Snivy matching the pace of its new trainer without so much of a glance back. Alex watched the door shut and wondered Cheren had meant with what he had said earlier.

"Alex, I already have you discharged so you don't need to worry about paperwork."

"Oh, okay." Alex said, shrugging his shoulders. His new Oshawott looked curiously at him before turning its head to Professor Juniper as she continued.

"Here," Professor Juniper gave Alex a piece of paper that was folded several times; Alex opened it to see a name, address, and phone number scrawled in pen.

"This is the person I was talking about earlier, she can help you with your memories," Professor Juniper explained, "She's a friend of mine. Although she said it might be a long shot, I would still like you to meet her. You can't miss her. She's not that hard to find. If you have trouble finding her, just call the number." Alex looked at the name on the piece of paper and nodded.

"She lives in Striaton City, so on the off chance you don't find Bianca in the next town, she will be there to help you stop her. Finding Bianca, however, is not the top priority, getting your memories back is. So whether or not Bianca is there when you get there, you are to meet my contact and call me if there's any news. I told Cheren to escort you there before he continues on with his journey. It's not safe to go alone, especially in your case." Professor Juniper put her hand on Alex's shoulder and looked kindly at the trainer. "Remember this. Even without your memories, you're still Alex; don't let it get to you if you can't remember."

"T-thanks," Alex stammered finally, he was at a loss for words. "For everything," Juniper smiled and removed her hand from Alex's shoulder. She then looked grim as though her mind was on something else now.

"I'll try to stall Bianca's dad for now," Professor Juniper grimaced for a second at the thought, "Meet up with Cheren at the front and try not to attract too much attention," Professor Juniper then walked out the room, but not without giving a quick "Good Luck" to Alex.

Taking a deep breath, Alex could feel his heart pumping with excitement. "Alright," he said, looking at his Oshawott, "Shall we get going?"

"Oshawott!" The little blue Pokémon jumped with joy.

"Come on!" Alex grinned, "We're going on our first Pokémon journey!"

…

_Route 1…_

It was almost evening when Cheren and Alex set out. The sun was starting to set, filling the sky with a reddish haze. "This is Route 1," Cheren said looking at the map he was holding. "The next town is just a straight road ahead. If we hurry, we can get to the next city before nightfall. I just hope Bianca is safe right now."

"Right," Alex panted from behind as he tried to catch up, He hasn't fully recovered from the hospital but he rather dragged his body across the ground before admitting that he was tired. His Oshawott was on his shoulder and was clearly enjoying the ride.

"Alex, are you okay?" Cheren said, looking back, light reflecting off his glasses. He, unlike Alex, had the idea of placing his starter back into its Poke ball while Alex felt like his Oshawott would enjoy a bit of scenery. Alex also thought it'd be nice to have a friend to sing along with, though Cheren looked like he wanted rip his ears out after the first five minutes.

"Maybe we should take a break…" Cheren said slowly.

"No need!" Alex said quickly, "I can take on an army!" Quickly, he jogged past Cheren as though to prove this. Alex managed to make it to the top of the small hill before he had to catch his breath again. Cheren strode to follow and caught up with him in seconds. "See!" Alex said, grinning painfully, "No problem! I can totally make it!" Cheren stared at him for a couple minutes and then…

"Hey, let's battle," Cheren said abruptly.

"Wait, what?" Alex said, looking up.

"Let's have a battle," Cheren repeated, taking out his Poke ball, "Maybe a Pokémon battle will help jog some of your memories back."

"Are you sure?" Alex asked, "You wanted to get to the next town in time right?" Oshawott cocked his head to the side, confused as well.

"No big deal," Cheren said, shrugging his shoulders, "I can beat you in less than one minute."

"Oh I get it, is that a challenge?" Alex said, grinning, Cheren simply smirked in reply. "Fine then, Oshawott! Let's show this guy what we can do!"

"Osha!" the little otter Pokémon exclaimed, ready to fight. It jumped down from Alex's shoulder and performed an energetic dance.

"We will definitely beat you!"

Cheren saw the sight before him and just laughed to himself.

"Wh-what? What's so funny?" Alex asked, wondering if he said something weird.

"Sorry, but for a moment there I thought you were about to do your favorite speech."

"Speech?" Alex said.

"Yeah," Cheren said. "Ever since kindergarten, you would always scream out what your dream was almost every day. Of course, it always drove everybody insane. Ahem," Cheren looked out at the sunset, adjusted his glasses and took a deep breath.

"My name is Alex Black! And I'm going to become the Pokémon Champion! I will definitely, definitely, _definitely _beat them all! The gym leaders, the Elite Four, and the Champion! So just you wait! Cause you're looking at the next Pokémon Champion of Unova! I promise!" Cheren roared the speech into the far distance with his hands shaped around his mouth like a megaphone to amplify his voice that echoed far and wide.

"Yeah see, that's the look I had when I first heard it." Cheren said, looking at Alex's and Oshawott's stunned expressions. "I thought it was just you being a nut, but you just kept doing it again and again, even after so many years… Because you said you made a promise to yourself and you weren't ever going to forget it."

"I see…" Alex said slowly and quietly. Cheren realized that he what he said was insensitive… Snap. It was like a slap across the face wasn't it, telling Alex about a promise he'd just broken.

"Look, Alex," Cheren said quickly, "I didn't mean…"

"Okay then!" Alex said suddenly, a bright look on his face, "I'll make sure that I'll do this then!"

"What?"

"Well, you said I promised myself, so I'll definitely succeed. I will become the next Pokémon Champion," Alex turned to the horizon. Remembering the words as though engraved into his heart now, Alex screamed,

"My name is ALEX BLACK! And I'm going to become the Pokémon Champion! I will definitely, definitely, _DEFINITELY _beat them all! The gym leaders, the Elite Four, and then the Champion! So just you wait! Cuz you're looking at the next Pokémon Champion of Unova! I PROMISE! And-!" Alex turned around to face Cheren and pointed at the stunned guy, "I'm going to prove to everybody by defeating you first!"

"Hahaha!" After a couple minutes of stunned silence, Cheren couldn't help but laugh at Alex's enthusiasm. Now this was the Alex he remembered. "Well," Cheren said grinning brightly, "Bring it on then! Snivy, you're up!" The little snake Pokémon jumped out of its Poke ball and turned to face Oshawott. Alex instinctively took out his Pokedex and checked through the contents at an amazing pace, as if he had done it before. Immediately, Alex got the information on his Oshawott's moves and Cheren's Snivy's moves.

_Okay_, Alex thought, _Oshawott __is __a __water __type__ Pokémon,__ so __it's __at __a__ disadvantage. __I'll __need__ to__ finish __this __battle __quick __if __I __want__ to __win__… __did__ I __just__ think __that __just __now?__ I __don't__ think__ I __read__ the __stats __that__ thoroughly._

"Don't dawdle!" Cheren said who had his Pokedex out but didn't look as though he was able to use it as quickly as Alex did (no surprise since Cheren just got his), "Snivy, use Vine Whip!" Pow! Oshawott got hit headfirst by Snivy's vines. Cheren was good. Even though this was his first battle with his own Pokémon, he knew attacks and weaknesses and seemed to be knowledgeable in different types of strategy.

"Hang in there, Oshawott! Tackle!" Alex commanded. Oshawott charged forward, ready to butt heads when Cheren called out another attack.

"Snivy, another Vine Whip!"

"Hit it with a Water Gun!" Snivy's vines were already extended from its last attack and weren't fast enough to move back in as Oshawott hit the snake Pokémon with a water attack, causing it to stumble back and miss its mark. "Vine Whip is a good attack for both close and wide range but they don't work if you can't get them to move fast enough."

"Good catch there," Cheren said, "But Snivy won't go down with a simple water attack and you know that. Snivy! Tackle it back!" Immediately, the snake Pokémon charged and slammed against the otter Pokémon, kocking it back a fair distance. "The opponent's far again, use Vine Whip!"

"Oshawott!" Alex cried out. However, just as Snivy's vine was about to land another hit, the little otter Pokémon pulled the shell from its stomach and held it out like a shield. The vines hit the shell with loud clinking sounds and were deflected. Oshawott grinned as it held out its shell proudly.

"What the-?" Cheren gaped. Even Snivy looked surprise at this tactic. Alex, on the other hand, was grinning at the stroke of inspiration his Pokémon had.

"This is good!" Alex said excited. With that shell, they could probably win this. "Oshawott, throw your shell at Snivy like a boomerang!" Oshawott took the shell and with one of its little arms and held it like it was winding up to throw a baseball.

"Get ready to deflect it Snivy!" Cheren warned.

Aiming carefully before going for it, Oshawott threw the shell. "Oshawott!" the little Pokémon cried out. It zoomed through the air like a fireball and managed to connect its attack. The shell definitely hit a target; unfortunately the target was Alex's face. Oshowott accidentally threw the shell backwards.

Wordlessly, Alex crashed onto the ground from the impact to his face; Cheren and Snivy simply stared at the scene of a small blue otter trying to resuscitate him.

…

_A little while later…_

"Well that was complete failure," Cheren sighed as he placed a bandage on Alex's cheek. Cheren had a first-aid kit out (which was being held by his Snivy) and was patching up Alex. "Seriously, we don't need to have another reason to send you to the hospital." Snivy sighed as well towards the foolishness of this person.

"Ow!" Alex whimpered, rubbing pain on his cheek. Oshawott was standing by its trainer and looked completely ashamed and guilty. "Oh it's not your fault," Alex said, noticing his Pokémon's depressed mood and softly pat it on the head. "I'm totally fine."

"Oshawott is still too young and inexperienced to learn that move," Cheren explained. "Even if it's good at throwing, its aim is terrible. You shouldn't let it do that again unless you want another smack to the face." This observation seemed to make the Pokémon even more depressed.

"Cheren!" Alex said, realizing that Cheren's comment hurt Oshawoot's feelings.

"Oh, sorry… umm… Oshawott. It's not your fault," Cheren said quickly though it was already too late. He placed the supplies back into the first aid kit and put it into his bag. "You know, the only reason I was carry this thing around in the first place was to make sure Bianca and you don't get into trouble."

Cheren looked at the horizon. The sun was definitely sinking down and stars could be seen in the slightly inky sky. "Great, that took more time than I wanted. I figured since we were using low level Pokémon, the battle wouldn't take so long. At this rate, we'll never get to the next city." Cheren continued onwards with Oshawatt and Alex lagging behind. Cheren was in deep thoughts again. Was there a way to get to the next city without having to camp for the night? If only they had a flying Pokémon… wait.

"Wait a minute, Alex, you still have War right?"

"Excuse me?"

"War," Cheren said, "You know, your Poke… oh that's right, you don't remember, hang on," He pointed to Alex's backpack. "May I?" Curious, Alex handed over the backpack for Cheren to open. There wasn't a lot of stuff to shuffle through, so it didn't take too long for Cheren to find what he was looking for – a Poke ball. Alex remembered seeing this lone Poke ball when he looking into his backpack but he just assumed it was empty. Cheren pressed its button and a large flash of light shot towards the ground.

It was a large eagle with a white feathery mane in shape of a war bonnet. Its back was red while its underside was navy blue. It had a sharp yellow beak and black talons that were sharp enough to tear tree bark.

"Is that a Braviary?" Alex gaped appeared. The Pokémon stared around, slightly confused. When it saw Alex, it immediately pressed its face against his, squawking with happiness.

"Whoa!" Alex said surprised and moved back involuntarily, "Is this Pokémon mine?" Braviary looked confusingly at Alex's behavior.

"We could've flown to the next city but instead we wasted time walking around." Cheren groaned, wondering why he hadn't thought of this earlier. He turned to the eagle Pokémon who looked hurt at its trainer's strange manners. Cheren quickly spoke to the large bird, "Say War, can you give us a lift?" He then quietly, trying not to show it directly to Alex, gestured toward the trainer while mimicking a hammer pound to the head and whirling motions with his finger. Needless to say the Braviary got the gesture and started flapping its wings in a panic. "Don't worry about it. Alex is going to see someone about this. Hopefully this will all be resolved later."

Alex was amazed at Cheren's calmness as it communicated with the large Pokémon without a hint of fear on his person.

"Come on," Cheren said, "War can get us to the next town without any problem. Oh by the way, War is your Pokémon's nickname so remember that." Both trainers returned their Pokémon and with that, Braivary grabbed Alex and Cheren with its claw. With its powerful wings, War flew into the air and soared through the skies.

"WOW!" Alex exclaimed as he looked at the trees and the dirt road below him, "We're flying!" He held out his arms as though he too had wings and could soar above the clouds. "This is just like magic!"

"Don't look down, don't look down," Cheren muttered with his eyes closed. He held his hands into tight fists and seemed to be tensed. Even though he suggested the idea, it was obviously that Cheren didn't like the idea of flying and the thought of plummeting back down the earth frightened the boy.

"So how in the world did I get War?" Alex asked, looking at the bird Pokémon. It was definitely way stronger than his Oshawott by a lot. Alex was guessing that he had trained this Pokemon ever since he was little…

"War was your dad's Pokémon." Alex's head spun around so quickly at Cheren that he could feel a crick in his neck.

"What? Wait, I have a dad?"

"What kind of question is that?" Cheren replied. Even with his eyes closed shut, skepticism was all over his face.

"Well, you know…" Alex suddenly remembered that he only saw his mom at the hospital. It never occurred to him why he didn't wonder why his dad wasn't there. "Well, how is he doing?" There was a troubling silence.

"It's not really a topic you talked about," Cheren said uneasily. "So I can't say much about it either."

"Really?" Alex felt tense now. Something he didn't talk about? Was it bad? Alex looked up at War but the bird Pokémon merely gazed ahead, like it didn't even want to be part of this conversation. Not even the Pokémon were willing to have anything to do with it.

"Yeah," Cheren continued, "if there was one thing you wouldn't talk about, it was your dad…"

"Oh…" Alex mumbled, realizing just how much he had to rely on his friends for personal information. It was rather unnerving. "S-so what kind of person am I?"

"What?" Cheren said, opening his eyes for the first time and looking at Alex.

"W-well Professor Juniper told me a bit," Alex said, quickly. "But I want your view of what kind of person I am. After all, you're my friend right?" Friend… such a strange word to say… especially to someone you don't recognize.

"What kind of guy you were like…" Cheren mused, pushing up the rim of his glasses. He stood there and thought hard.

"You… were _an__ idiot_," Alex gaped at the bluntness of Cheren's words, but let the guy continue on as if he was lecturing a child.

"You always have to stick your nose into other people's business; you have no idea what the word 'personal space' means; you're constantly prone to creating accidents; you have a tendency to break rules; you're loud; you're clueless when it comes to taking tests that sometimes I wondered if you should be tested…" As he heard all the negative attributes, Alex wondered if he stumbled upon the "Let's All Gang Up On Alex" space on life's game board. He rubbed the bandage on his cheek as he kept hearing each sentence starting with 'You, you, and you'.

"But," Cheren said finally, pausing for a bit before he continued, "You have a good heart," Alex perked up at the compliment. "You always stood up to what you believe was right." Cheren stopped before he mumbled one last thing, although Alex couldn't hear what he said.

"I'm sorry, what was that last part you said?"

"Nothing," Cheren said, turning away. "You're a good person Alex. Don't ever forget that."

"O-okay," Alex said, wondering what Cheren meant by that. Throughout the rest of the trip, the two were quiet, not speaking another word.

"Here we are," Cheren interrupted Alex's thoughts. He saw Cheren looking ahead in one of the rare instances he wasn't just squinting and avoiding looking below. Sure enough, Alex could see the bright lights as they shone through the dim lit sky. It wasn't a large town; Alex could see a lot of grassy fields and natural landscapes. Cheren looked onward as Alex gazed at the town lights, "Welcome to Accumula Town."

**Author Notes**

Okay, that's it from me. Next chapter will be very exciting (hopefully) and we're going to have our first OC appear. And a very special character as well that most of you know probably know. So excited!

Oh yes, and I do have an important poll that is related to this chapter. Please check my profile page and vote! It is a very close tie, so the more people, the better.

Let's thank my reviewers before I go.

…

**Ketchum Kid**

**Trainer-Ken**

**ZXCVBNMEM**

**N the puppet**

**Starran**

**Jarkes**

**littlmidget123**

**Anon****(no****account)**(Oh that's too bad. Anyways, thanks for the review.)

**Ashley****Tro** (Thanks for the info! Congrats on getting the game)

**goldw1993**

**Light-Sakura**

**Whitoath**

…

That's it from me.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	8. How to Greet People After Colliding

**Disclaimer: Naw, I can't own Pokemon.**

Hey guys! Another update! WHOO! Like I promised from the previous chapter. Plus, my finals are done so I'm officially on my break! :D  
Anyways, this chapter is pretty eventful.

Important news at the bottom so check it out after you finish reading.

And finally, thank you **SinCityAssassin42** for helping me with this chapter.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 7:**

In the flat field at the edge of town was a bustle of activity. A group of people dressed in blue gauntlets and boots and white tunics and whatnot stop in position, as if they were posing as knights. Strange-looking knights. Although if one would wonder if there was something suspicious going on, there actually wasn't since they had the right to the premises.

"All right here is the next one. Let's pound this one to the ground," one of the men said as he propped a piece of lumber vertically up against the ground. Next to him was a small Timburr, who immediately jumped high into the air and slammed onto the wood with enough force to push it into the ground. "Good job. Thank you for your work," the man added to the gray Pokémon. The Timburr nodded in appreciation. This was how it should be, the man thought. Humans shouldn't force their Pokémon to do things. There should be a partnership – a pact. There was no such thing as master and servant, and defining oneself as a trainer was forbidden in the organization.

Despite the lack of visibility at night, there were others doing the same exact thing. Some had nails and hammers and were putting flatter pieces of wood together, others were holding up lanterns to light up the area. All of them were working very hard and very diligently, and all of them shared the same appreciation toward the Pokémon. They were building what appeared to be a platform or possibly a stage.

"I see that everybody is working hard." A new voice echoed into the work area. The man who was working with his Timburr turned to greet the man, whose voice was easily recognizable to him and his team.

"Honorable Ghetis!" The man greeted with recognition and respect dripping from his tone. At the sound of Ghetis' name, everyone had stopped what they were doing and kneeled in his direction.

"Rise up my friends," the man said smiling. Behind him were six other men though they remained silhouettes in the shadows. Despite his command to stand, everybody remained in their place; Ghetis decided to let them have their way with this, and continued with a question. "Is it almost prepared?" he asked.

"All of this will be done very soon," the grunt spoke, not daring to lift his head to see the man.

"Good," Ghetis said, "Tomorrow we shall finally be ready to share our ideals to the world. I'm eager to see how this will turn out."

"Sir, yes sir!"

With that, Ghetis turned and left, signaling the six men to follow. As they continued their way, Ghetis could hear the sound of hammering. He smiled to himself, such hard working loyal members under his employ.

"Ghetis," one of the elderly men whispered, "Tomorrow, the city will have some sort of event going on. Are you sure it is a good idea to give the speech on the same day?"

"Of course," Ghetis responded. "It is because of this event that we're going to speak out earlier than planned – to show the world our version of ideal happiness. It will be fine." He said this in such a firm voice that the elderly man didn't object any further.

"I do not wish to be rude in asking, Ghetis," another elderly man interrupted, "but where is our king? He should have been with us to help up morale."

"Where do you think?" the man replied said scoffing, "He's star gazing."

…

It was nightfall and small bright stars shown against the inky sky. Each small and insignificant by themselves, but together they could glitter and light up the night sky like no one's business, showing a world beyond darkness. At least that is what he liked to think as he gazed upon the stars with his grey eyes.

He was lying atop a steep, grassy hill, the grass swayed like waves in the cool night breeze. The moonlight shone a pale light and the cool wind brushed against his skin. Although he could still faintly hear the noises from far away, his mind was focused on the calmness in the sky above.

Tonight, he felt like his one star – his one dream – will soon become billions of stars that will shine and be shared across the world. He could still remember the start of his dream. Ever since his childhood… how he was loved and cared by them and how he did in return. This was his way of showing his gratitude toward them.

He wasn't going to let someone get in his way and he had proven his determination and commitment though he very much regretted doing so… And it happened not so long ago. Such a terrible memory that he hoped to soon forget.

Deciding that he had been here long enough, he slowly got up, his black and white baseball cap tight on his long frizzy green hair that was tied up in a ponytail. His white collared shirt hung loosely on his rather thin body though his long stocky legs moved with such ease and fluidity. The most curious item on him, one that seemed to be out of place, was the keychain he had on his belt. It was in shape of a cube yet the middle seemed to have been hollowed out.

Like these humans… They appear to have substance on the outside, yet when you search deeper within them; you see nothing but a shallow personality. Like two different shades of color, humans have two personalities – one was to hide the true maliciousness of the other.

But he was going to change that. He was going to change the world; he was going to have mankind realize their atrocities, and they will repent. He was the lone star in the night sky; and soon, he will outshine every other.

_**He was N.**_

…

_Accumula Town…_

Accumula Town was nothing really to brag about. As a small town, it was a quiet destination spot to relax for a night before moving onto another part of the region. However, the place did have a really nice looking park that most people would go to for picnics and the likes. Tonight, however, was different; the park was alive with activity and there was a crowd of people – cameramen, makeup artists, etc. Much setting up was being done as though preparing for something tomorrow.

Cheren and Alex had landed near the park, curious at the commotion. War was back in Alex's backpack, almost to the Pokémon's relief, it apparently wanted to avoid an awkward moment with the amnesia afflicted Alex.

"Wow, I'm surprised this place is busy tonight," Cheren commented. "It's usually quiet by now," Lots of well-dressed business people were walking around, holding notepads and giving orders to men in uniform (though Alex and Cheren couldn't really tell what they were saying from a distance.) Alex and Cheren felt uneasy being in such a crowded place.

"I guess the first thing to do is to find a place to sleep," Cheren stated the obvious. "Hopefully they still have –."

"Hey there! You two! Come over here!" Alex and Cheren turned around to see a girl about two years their senior, waving at them. She had knee-length, sunny orange hair, twisted into a neat ponytail. She was wearing a long, navy blue dress that was tight enough to emphasize her curvy hips and rather large chest, and a scarf that matched the color of her hair. She beckoned them over to her as she moved forward because it was hard for her to walk in that dress. But she didn't seem to be too fazed by it.

"'Scuse me! Do you two work here?" Her green eyes sparkled with hope that she found the people she was looking for.

"W-work? Sorry, I think you're mistaken." Cheren said, looking slightly apprehensive. "We are not workers…"

"Ack, sorry!" the girl said, "I was wondering why you looked like you had nothing to do. Guess that explains it." She grinned sheepishly in apology. "Still, you guys might wanna rethink your wardrobe."

"E-Excuse me? But what is wrong with the clothes we're wearing?" Cheren said, sounding indignant, pulling at his jacket. Alex looked back blankly.  
"Oh. Nothing," the girl replied smirking at Cheren's attire, "Unless you didn't want to look like a mini version of those old professor geezers." The girl laughed lightly to let the two boys know not to take her too seriously. Cheren and Alex looked at each other with slight skepticism. "Nah, I joke. I joke."

"Umm, sorry, but who are you?" Alex asked, curiously.

"What? Who am I? _Who am I?_" the girl repeated, like she didn't hear right. "Why, I'm Sharon Mackenzie – Orre's greatest actress!" She twirled around dramatic. She opened an eye and held out her hand, "Nice to meetcha." Both of the boys were silent and unmoved for while until both slowly exchanged the handshake.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Cheren and this here is Alex."

"Hi," Alex said, returning a grin as well.

"Cuuuute names," Sharon said with a wink. Alex stared back, puzzled. Was winking a compliment? Was he supposed to wink back?

"So, you said you were from Orre? You've come a pretty long way." Cheren said, coughing in embarrassment.

"Well, Pryte Town to be exact. To tell you the truth, the pay kind of sucks back at home," Sharon explained, giving a frown, "Did manage to get a nice break from the movies, so I'm here to launch my career overseas."

"So what is it you guys are doing here?" Alex asked, pointing at the set around them. It might have been Alex's imagination, but things were starting to sound even more hectic. Maybe it was because they were all standing closer to the heart of the production.

Cameramen were working their cameras to the point of breakage while business executives were shouting into their headsets to people either too dumb or too deaf to understand them. Since they were all screaming, "Are you an idiot?" and "The lights were supposed to be hung on the other side by now! Are you a dunce?" he assumed the former. Near the back of the set were girls dressed as fashionably like Sharon, screaming at each other about makeup and their outfit, like they were ready to rip each other's' throat out.

"What? Were you guys living under a rock this whole time?" Sharon's eyes bulged; she was shock at what little knowledge Alex displayed of this event. "Tomorrow is the preliminary photo shoot for the upcoming Spring Fashion Show, held here in Unova. The guy in charge of the whole thing is the editor of the popular magazine _Random Hot! _that will be taking pictures here!" Sharon explained all this clearly, despite the loud background noise in earshot. She didn't seem to be as fazed by the noise like Cheren and Alex were. In fact, it looked like she almost enjoyed the sound of stress incarnate.

"Wait a minute. I thought you said you were an actress, why are you at a photo-shoot?" Cheren noted.

"Well, I'm not really a model," Sharon admitted, "My boss told me that this contest was a good place to shoot a couple of profile shots. Plus, it's more publicity for moi," – Sharon pointed at herself when she said this – "I'm bound to get some acting gigs if I manage to get on the front page with this." She paused for a moment before adding, "And hopefully, that guy'll see my face and realize I'm looking for him…" For the first time in the conversation, she fell silent.

"Who will?" Alex asked curiously, but Sharon's eyes were deep in thought and towards the ground. Cheren elbowed Alex, a not so subtle hint that asking personal questions would not be a good idea. "Owww," Alex groaned as he rubbed his ribs.

"Ahem, Front page?" Cheren interjected, which shot Sharon back to reality. "You make it sound like you have to fight for it."

"Huh? Oh, well, yeah. This photo shoot is really more of a competition," Sharon explained with a fiery determination now. "The higher ups in charge of this shoot will decide which one of us would be the best model for the front cover, and get paid a real nice sum of cash. Man, I'm so pumped up to get that money! Think of all the steaks I could buy!"

"Steak? Why spend your money on that?" Alex asked.

"Dude, in Orre, steak is one of the most expensive meals _ever_, like totes arm and a leg." Sharon said, giving off a rugged accent. "My friends back at home would be so jealous if they knew. Course I still got to watch my weight; at least I managed to fit into this dress. Man, I'm so happy I could punch someone right now."

"So why did you call us over?" Cheren asked, trying to get back on topic. He didn't want to randomly get hit by someone as excited as her. "You sounded pretty worried."

"Oh yeah! Totally forgot about that. Well, actually, I called you guys over because I was looking for a friend and was wondering if you stage hands seen her anywhere." Sharon looked around, hoping to spot her friend in the mist of the crowd.

"Friend? Also, again, we don't work here."

"Yeah, she ran off before I could tell her where to meet up so we could do makeup for tomorrow. I think it's because she couldn't find her partner."

"More like she doesn't have a partner," another snide voice piped in. Alex and Cheren turned around to see a girl with long, curly, strawberry pink hair that was tied up into thick, braided pigtails that went down to her hips. Black ribbons were carefully weaved into the hair. Her inky purple cocktail dress seemed to glitter against the night sky and her ear threads flashed silver in the bright spotlights. She was rather tall, but definitely around Sharon's age. Her bright, cherry red lips were in a tight smile, a bit too tight to be natural.

The girl's gray eyes looked extremely proud, but very snobby, in Alex's opinion. "She told me that she was getting her partner to show me up, but I know she's soooo lying. Girls like her have such difficulty getting boys to help out. Unlike me, as I have soooooooo many admirers that I can't even-."

"Luvina," Sharon said to the newcomer, though her tone gave an underlying 'oh-great-you're-doing-this again.' The model called Lurvina scoffed when she was rudely interrupted, but became silent. "No need to say stuff like that. We know you're more famous. No need to brag about it."

"Well, I don't see a reason why I shouldn't. Then again, you never understood the glamor of a true star. Isn't that right, Miss Second Rate Actress? I can't even remember that movie you stunted in."

"Why I oughta-!" Cheren had suddenly found himself grabbing onto Sharon – a girl he barely knew – with all his strength to prevent her from killing the other actress and making a bloody crime scene.

"Luvina? That sounds familiar," Cheren interjected as he struggled to hold the enraged girl in place. "You wouldn't happen be the daughter of Cornelius, one of the designers of the Nimbasa Amusement Park? And you're the actress in the upcoming _Love Struck_ movie right?" Alex stared at Cheren with utter amazement; the guy didn't look like the type to keep up with pop culture.

"What?" Cheren shrugged, though he was turning slightly pink around the ears, "I read it in the newspaper. The amusement park is a highly popular destination and _Love Struck_ is supposed to be the most anticipated movie of the month." Cheren realized that this wasn't helping his case as Alex continued to stare at him. Even Sharon was shocked enough to stop charging at Lurvina to look at him in surprise. Cheren decided it was time to shut up now.

"See, Sharon," Luvina said smirking as she turned back to the girl, "I am _soooo_ well known by everyone in Unova." Alex noticed that the girl loved to stress on the word 'sooooo' a lot.

"By your father's connections," Sharon muttered, rolling her eyes.

"So, what is this partner thing you're talking about?" Alex asked curiously, oblivious of the tension in the air. Lurvina turned to Alex as though she had just realized that boys with lower stature than hers can talk.

"Who are these two boys? Are they your backup boyfriends? I never would've thought you had a thing for grade schoolers." Luvina said, smirking in delight at the infuriated Sharon. Cheren turned red with embarrassment again while Alex was simply left confused. Boyfriend? Alex could feel his brain searching through in his mind of every definition and all the information he knew… yet this term 'boyfriend' was not in his dictionary… Maybe he should ask Cheren about it later.

"No, they happen to be a couple of guys I met," Sharon snapped back, sounding like she really wanted to punch Luvina again, but managed to restrain herself from doing so, but it helped that Cheren was kind of holding her arms back. "And for your information, I _do_ have a partner. He's not here yet."

"Okay, sure," Lurvina smirked, suggesting that she didn't really believe it.

Sharon turned to Alex and explained. "The photo shoot's theme is spring time, so the magazine decided to do a little bit of romance," Sharon paused, but continued though she sounded disgusted now, "You know love, love is in the air and all that jazz. So obviously, we need male partners for this photo shoot. However, the director here thinks it would be more… _interesting_ if we brought in someone we knew as a friend or boyfriend; he wants a connection or some jabber like that. Of course, there are male models here as well if we can't find someone, but they are only interested in going after the girl models they can use to get them on the front page. "

"Like me," Luvina interjected, shaking her beautiful hair, giving the effect that the wind was blowing through it gracefully though in the process, it hit Sharon's face. "Everybody knows I'm going to win, so what's the point of trying?"

"Maybe it's because some of us would like to see yer head shoved into a blasted wall for once," Sharon muttered, showing the roughness of her slightly improper language and inadvertently cracking her knuckles. Alex and Cheren, slightly terrified when they heard this, decided that they were never going to make Sharon mad.

"Well," Lurvina continued in a high pitched, stuck-up voice, not hearing a word Sharon said, "it was… nice talking to you three, but I have to go. Can't let my admirers get too worried about me, tootles." With that, the pretty teenage girl left as quickly as she came; her strawberry blond hair was dancing in the wind.

"Tch, that girl pisses me off," Sharon muttered and shook her head. Cheren noticed that the girl still had her hands in tight fists.

"Where is that wind coming from…?" Alex mused to himself.

"Sorry you had to meet an awful person like her, I wish I could say the others weren't like her, but most of these girls here only care about their own selves, she's just the worst. I've heard that some of these girls were desperate enough to try and sabotage each other. What happened to fair competitions dang it! I feel like punching someone again!"

"But Lurvina seems like she does have talent," Cheren quipped, again not wanting to be randomly punched in the face. "She is a pretty good actress."

"Yeah, she does have _some_ talent," Sharon admitted reluctantly, "But her attitude completely ruins it in my opinion. Plus, she takes advantage of her father's status so that she doesn't have to go through the audition process like the rest of us. We don't have her connections, so we have to be on our best behavior around her, because if she complains… well, it'd be over for us."

"Sharon!" A voice called out. A beefy and short mid-forty man, wearing flashy shades and in a purple suit appeared next to the three. He pushed Cheren and Alex aside like they were just a pair of unneeded props. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you. Come on, we need to rehearse for tomorrow!"

"Oh, okay boss, no problem," Sharon said, saluting and grinning. She hid her mood well, at least well enough that her boss didn't notice a thing. It was remarkable, Cheren noted. Sharon wasn't just bragging when she said she was a pretty good actress.

"And please stop doing that," the man groaned. "You need to look delicate and act in an upper-class polite tone... And no foul language." He added that last part in a serious tone.

"Okay, okay," Sharon said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. However, when her boss looked away, she still stuck her tongue out at him.

"By the way, the crew gave out some free tickets to the models. Invite some of your friends, okay? It'll give you good publicity when you got people to vouch for you." The man handed three glossy tickets to Sharon before his cellphone rang. He quickly picked it up and began speaking to the person on the other line.

"Yes? No, no, no! I said roses not daffodils!" he continued on as he rushed back into the crowd.

Sharon looked at the tickets in her hand, unsure what to do with them. She turned toward Cheren and Alex and suddenly had an idea. "Say, if you guys want, come to the show tomorrow. It's not like I got any other friends here in the first place, and it'll be fun. Here," Sharon spoke, her rugged accent showing. She grabbed Cheren's hand and slapped the tickets into Cheren's palm; the guy was baffled, not fully comprehending what was happening. "Invite some people too; make sure to tell them to root for me."

"I don't know…" Cheren muttered. He wasn't really interested in watching people taking pictures.

"There's free food."

"We'll be there!" Alex said very quickly. "I hope you get the front page thing."

"Aw shucks. Good to know I have some fans in Unova," Sharon grinned at Alex's eagerness and waved goodbye before she started running into the busy set. "See yaw later!"

"Hold on for just one second!" Cheren suddenly yelled, remembering their task at hand. Alex jumped in surprised from the outburst, and Sharon stopped to turn around, looking curiously over the crowd. "Sorry to delay you further, but I want to ask. Have you seen a blond hair girl named Bianca?"

"Bianca?" Sharon yelled out the crowd, she thought carefully before shaking her head. "Nope, sorry. She a friend of yours?"

"Yes. We're trying to find her." Cheren decided not to go into the fact that Bianca was running away though.

"Hmm, funny how we both seem to be losing track of our friends… Well, I keep an eye out for her, but maybe she'll show up tomorrow. Anyways, see you!"

"Thanks!" Cheren said. Sharon turned back to the set and was gone in the crazed mass of stage attendants and choreographers.

"Great, I guess we'll search around then." Cheren sighed as he started to walk away from the noise.

"You think Bianca is still in the city?" Alex asked, looking around as well. "It's been a while since she left."

"Well, maybe," Cheren shrugged, "I know she loves clothes and stuff. Even if she was desperate to run away, she'd be interested in sticking around to see the sights. You stay here for a bit while I ask around. I'll be quick. _Don't. Move_._ A Muscle._" Cheren said, emphasizing that last part, "I don't need to have you running off again like last time."

"Okay, okay, sheesh," Alex said quickly, his hands up in defense. Cheren nodded and left Alex alone to search for possible witnesses.

Alex stood there, wondering what to do. There were several couples walking about on the lit path as though enjoying a stroll in the park. Despite Cheren's orders Alex was curious to see what was going on around here. And while at it, maybe he should get something to eat. He was starving and could almost hear his stomach growling; but of course, he didn't have money on him at the moment… Maybe Cheren had some…

With this thought in mind, Alex was suddenly struck down to the ground; his body was sprawled on the floor and his head dizzy and disoriented from the impact. He felt like he had been hit by a train.

Alex groaned from pain as he tried to get up, but something heavy held him down. He opened his eyes to see a girl, also dazed from their crash, lying on top of him on her back. She had a white baseball cap on her head a pink Poke ball symbol and pink brim. She had extremely thick, luscious, curly brown hair that was slightly darker than Alex's and definitely more voluminous. How she managed to tie it up into a ponytail and fit it into her hat was something Alex could only wonder about.

The girl was wearing clothing that seemed to contrast what kind of person she wanted to portray. Despite her sport-like hat and black with pink lining cotton wristbands, she was wearing a white tank top underneath a black sleeveless cardigan that went down to her curvy hips. She had on black hiking boots tied with red laces yet she was wearing extremely short blue jeans that revealed her thin yet attractive toned legs.

She was about the same age as Alex and had the same aching expression on her face as she rubbed her head. However, when her blue eyes met with Alex's brown ones, she gaped with a mixture of small shock and… something else that Alex couldn't quite put his fingers on. It felt like they were staring at each other for almost an eternity when Alex suddenly remembered where he was and winced in pain as he relived the moment.

"Oww, sorry," Alex groaned though now that he thought about it, the collision wasn't really his fault to begin with. He struggled out from under the girl and wondered if he should help the girl up as well but decided to leave quickly instead. He didn't want to get a slap across the face for his actions being misunderstood for something more devious and plus, he was already getting a lot of stares from passersby. He picked up his hat, which fell to the ground, and was about to leave when the girl grabbed his arm. She looked back determined and her fiery blue eyes seemed to look straight through Alex from head to toe. As the girl got up by using Alex's arm for support, Alex noticed that he had a slight advantage in height over her, but something told him that this girl was not someone he should mess with.

"W-what's the deal?" Alex asked, looking slightly scared at this behavior, "Let go of me." He tried to push away the girl's hand but instead the girl now grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him close. Alex's heart was pounding fast now. This girl was so close to his face that it looked as though she were about to ki-.

"You! You have to become my boyfriend right now!"

Oh… well that's definitely one way to get someone's attention.

**Author's Notes**

Congratulations Alex. First day on your amnesia Pokémon journey and you already have a girlfriend. XP

Sharon is an OC made by **Ketchum Kid**. And Lurvina is made by **JD09** (aka me).

Since I'm on my break, I'm going to try and update more frequently and I might even have a special update for all of my stories. Think of it as a possible holiday gift to you guys. I just hope I can make it. :O

**REMEMBER MY POLL!**

In other news, anybody heard about the new Pokémon game? The fusion with Nobunaga's Ambition. Seems like an interesting strategy game. It looks pretty cool with the samurai theme though I wonder how Mewtwo appeared in an ancient history time period… And why is it that all the guys get such cool legendary/starter Pokemon and the girl gets a Jigglypuff? O.o But I digress.

Let's thank my reviewers before I go!

…

**ZXCVBNMEM**

**Trainer-Ken**

**Ketchum Kid**

**KoreanoWaltz**

**N the puppet**

**Dreadly Rise**

**littlmidget123**

**Light-Sakura**

**BattleWithYourHeart**

**Whitoath**

**PokemonTrainerYellow**

…

Well, that's it from me. Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	9. A Pretend Boyfriend

**Disclaimer: Can't Own Pokemon**

Wait, hold on. I'm not dead yet? Awesome! Lol.

Hey guys, JD here again after such a long disappearance. I'm sorry to say but exams are upon me and I've been cramming for a while. I'm afraid updates will be even slower until I finish. Hey, with my break coming up, I'll might be able to do quite a bit more update for that period of time. Keep your fingers crossed!

For those who don't know. I will not just discontinue a story without telling my readers first. So expect an update no matter what unless I say otherwise.

The poll has finally been closed and the name for our female protagonist has finally been chosen. Thank you all who have voted.

And thank you **SinCityAssassin** for editing this chapter.

Enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 8:**

_About an hour or two earlier…_

Many workers were still getting ready for the photo shoot for tomorrow; despite the rush, the crews had to make sure they stayed away from the meeting area where a famous magazine editor and the executives in charge of the shoot were at the moment; with models all dressed up in their most glamorous dresses and flashy jewelry to match. The pre-shooting party was in full swing, filled with chatter, laughter, and an unhealthy amount of gossip in the air. One model was standing at the concession stand where the punch bowl was, holding up a compact mirror as she make sure all of her makeup stayed on.

She had managed to tame her brown, luscious, curly hair into a small, curly ponytail while the rest softly rested against her shoulders and her back. Perfect, just perfect. Her manicured fingernails were painted pink like the color of her lips. It matched well with the dress she was wearing – a sleeveless white tiered ruffle knee length dress with a black ribbon tied around her curvy waist.

She could feel the usual excitement tingling on her skin at the thought of the photo shoot tomorrow. And why shouldn't she? This was a once in a lifetime chance. She had worked in quite a few plays at a small theater, but she had just recently become a full time model when an agent just so happened to spot her at one of her performances. Hilda's dream now was to become the face that would be seen all over Unova. Of course, she'd have to first start out small first. Despite the party being informal on the surface, both the photographer and the magazine editor were here; good first impressions were a must.

"Hey Hilda! There you are," The girl turned at the sound of her name and recognized a familiar face.

"Hello Ms. Sharon," Hilda waved to greet, grinning at the orange hair girl as she stepped in. She was wearing a simple yet elegant blue navy dress and her hair was tied up into a nice ponytail. Around her neck was a golden locket that glittered.

"Sheesh, how many times do I have to tell you?" Sharon said, rolling her eyes as she put her hands to her hips, "Enough with formalities! We don't need stiffness among friends." Though she said this, Sharon's eyes twinkled with playful laughter as she roughly slaps Hilda on the back to loosen up.

Hilda liked Sharon a lot; she had a sort of tomboyish attitude and an outgoing friendly personality, a rarity among the models here. The older teenager was like a big sister to Hilda. They met in the hotel they were staying at and hit it off immediately.

"Sorry," Hilda apologized. "I'm trying to look my best in front of everybody. I'm sort of anxious."

"What in the world are you worrying about?" Sharon exclaimed as she grabbed a cup to fill it with the fruit punch, the juice splashed droplets onto the table and Hilda made a note to watch out for that. "You don't need to be so stiff for this, it ain't nothing, you'll do fine. If they don't like you for what you are, then it's their lost." She took a large inelegant swig and crushed the paper cup with her hand. "That sure hits the spot."

"S-Sh-Sharon!" an overweight man exclaimed, rushing forward. He was in a nervous wreck and wiped his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief. The handkerchief itself didn't look too well from all that abuse. "Enough with that… that… that inelegance! You're upper class and you must act like one!" He grabbed the paper cup as though it was some ticking bomb and quickly threw it in the nearest trashcan. "Nothing to look at!" He exclaimed as he laughed nervously to curious bystanders who were drawn to his melodrama.

"Sorry boss," Sharon said, shrugging her shoulders as though she couldn't understand what was the big deal. "I'll be more careful."

"Please don't do anything unnecessary," the man sighed, "Or else you'll be kicked out of here and I'll lose my job." The man noticed a rather handsome and tall man walking by and must have been important for Sharon's agent quickly rushed as fast as his pudgy legs could carry him. "Ah, Mr. Gavin! So good to see you here!"

Sharon hardly took a second look at her agent before turning back to Hilda. "You look good in that outfit," Sharon continued with a playful smile and a wink, "Put a veil, you would make the perfect bride."

"Sharon!" Hilda exclaimed, blushing. "Don't say stuff like that!"

"Why not? You're wearing white and you look gorgeous, gonna make all the guys go after ya. And hey your last name's White, a match made in heaven. But remember that this is a springtime magazine we're modeling for, so make sure to wear colorful clothing for the real deal."

"I-I know," Hilda mumbled. "I figure I should wear my favorite outfit."

"That hideous thing?" A high pitch female voice filled with disbelief reached Hilda's ear, "That's your favorite outfit?"

"Oh no," Sharon groaned and stared past Hilda, eyelids lowered, "here comes Miss Venus of Disaster," Sure enough when Hilda turned around, there was her number one enemy and Sharon's number one nuisance; Lurvina's purple cocktail dress and flamboyant jewelry seemed to dim Hilda's plain clothing in comparison. The Venus of Disaster swung her head around as though she was ready to taunt her new victims.

"You realize that that sort of white is so passé. Just like your name." Lurvina smirked at Hilda who just had to snap back. You don't go around dissing other people's names.

"At least my name has more personality than your stuck up, stink of a name," Hilda wasn't going to be nice to Lurvina, even though the woman had many connections thanks to her father. Hilda met Lurvina many months back at the audition for the movie _Love Struck_. To make a long story short, Hilda didn't get the main heroine part, but Lurvina did. Hilda herself didn't hold any resentment about it, but winning that part made Lurvina even more entitled and prideful than she had been before; and for some reason Hilda became the main target ever since.

"Ooooh, buuuuuurn!" Sharon grinned, enjoying this completely, "You tell her, girl," Lurvina glared furiously at Sharon, though the glower soon faded back to her pompous stare.

"Don't be jealous of me because I have way more talent than you," Lurvina said as she casually played with her hair. Sharon took a glance a Hilda before sticking her tongue out at the purple actress.

"What are you doing here, talking to us? Don't you have any other friends to talk to?" Hilda asked. As though on cue, another voice joined the group.

"Lurvina, baby, how you doing?" Hilda noticed a rather cute and buff looking guy coming over to Lurvina and wrapped one of his arms around her waist. The other hand was holding a cup of punch that he handed it to Lurvina. "I missed you."

"Oh, Adam!" Lurvina said, giggling in a cute voice. The sudden lethal levels of fake saccharine made Sharon and Hilda want to puke. "I missed you too. Could you be a dear and get me my scarf from my dressing room? It's starting to get chilly" Ignoring Sharon's undisguised gagging sound, Adam bobbed his head up and down and left like a loyal servant.

"See, everybody here knows how great I am and that I have such a sweet personality."

"Yeah, the sweetness of a rotten Durin berry," Sharon shot back and turned to leave. "Come on Hilda, let's go." Hilda couldn't be happier to agree. However, just as she turned away, she immediately felt a sharp cold sensation on her back.

"ACK!" Hilda screamed and flinched at the coldness hit her skin. The sensational feeling slid down her skin and Hilda realized that it was punch juice. The purple color was already soaking into her white clothes and marking the large stain. Hilda spun around and saw Lurvina with an empty plastic up in her hand and an extremely please look on her face. "Y-you!"

"Oh opps," Lurvina said, not sounding a bit sorry. "My bad. I thought some color on your clothes would do you better but now you looked like you puked all over yourself."

"Brat!" Hilda was so furious that she couldn't even speak in full sentences.

"You better get changed," Lurivna continued with a sly grin, "unless you want the editor see you like that," Hilda thought Lurvina was trying to scare her with that comment until she saw the familiar face. Oh no! Sure enough, the editor of _Hot Random! Magazine_ came into full view. He was a rather young man, probably around his late twenties. He had a small goatee and messy golden flecked brown hair underneath his flat cap. He looked rather simple among the vibrant colors with his brown but expensive camel blazer and black tie. The editor towers over the agents with their models who surrounded him, each trying to get his attention. The editor looked pleasant but slightly overwhelm by the crowd. Lurvina was already in the midst of the crowd and talking directly to the man, leaving Hilda in a wet dripping state. Hilda could feel the stares from the people by her.

"That punk!" Sharon snarled as she balled her hands into fists and charged forward toward into the crowd with an unbridled fury.

"Wait, stop Sharon! If you do anything, you'll get kicked out of the photo shoot," Hilda grabbed Sharon's arm and tried to pull the girl away. The cool night was freezing to Hilda's skin now that she was soaked. Still, she did her best to act nonchalant.

"But she just poured punch on you and ruined your nice dress! Oh, she is gonna get it!"

"It's fine," Hilda said, shivering slightly. "I don't want to cause any more trouble." Sharon eyed Hilda's shivering form before realizing that her anger gotten the best of her and she should be more focused on Hilda's wellbeing. She sighs and scratches the back of her head in irritation.

"You better get changed," Sharon grumbled. "You're going to catch a cold," Sharon grabbed Hilda and dragged her into the dressing room where they had placed their stuff in.

"Do you have another dress with you?"

"No," Hilda sighed. "I didn't bring anything except my make-up kit and my everyday clothes."

"Hmm, well we can't go back to the hotel. By the time we get back, it'll be too late. Everybody important is here and we certainly don't want to waste time without getting to know them first. I'll ask my partner and see if he knows what to do since he works here and all."

"Partner?"

"Uh huh," Sharon said while nodding her head, "His name is Terrance, my agent introduced him to me. He's one of the models around here and my partner for the photo shoot we have to do. Though I'll admit, he does have nice abs."

"Wait, what?" Hilda felt her smile being frozen into place.

"Abs. You know, like muscles…"

"No, I meant the part about he's your partner?"

"Oh that," Sharon shrugged her shoulders. She noticed her reflection in the mirror and immediately turned her attention to it. "The editor said we needed partners for this upcoming thing. Something about springtime is the perfect season for love, blah, blah, blah. I thought I was sunk for this photo shoot since I was new around this place and didn't really have many connections with the modeling industry." She was so busy with her hair that she didn't know the white terror on Hilda's face.

"Sharon, I just realized I have something to do back at the hotel so I'm going to change."

"Wait, what?" Sharon said, surprised. "Hey don't worry about the dress. Terrance is a nice guy and a fine looking one too. He wouldn't be in cahoots with Lurvina.:

"That's not what this is about."

"Well, what do you need to do that is so important right now?" But White had already (at surprisingly top speed) changed back to her regular clothes – pink and white baseball cap, white top, short blue jeans – and left the room without another word. Sharon stared blankly after White before shrugging her shoulders. Oh well, whatever it was, it shouldn't be too big of a deal for Sharon to worry about.

…

Hilda was frantically jumping up and down as she heard the ringing tone on the pay phone she was using in the park. Pick up… Pick up!

"Hello?" A male voice spoke groggily on the other line. "BW Agency…zzzz…"

"BEN! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Huh?" the voice said, still not sounding fully awake. "Who is this?"

"Why didn't you tell me I needed a partner for this photo shoot?" Hilda was literally screaming into the phone now. Her rage was building up quite a bit.

"Hilda? Is that you? Whoa, stop screaming. What are you talking about?"

"The photo shoot you set me up with. Why didn't you mention that I needed a partner?"

There was a long pause on the other line before an, "Oh."

"Oh? OH? What kind of an excuse is that?"

"I forgot," Ben said simply. "It happens you know."

"FORGOT?" Hilda screeched. "How could you forget something that important?"

"Hilda, stop worrying," the man sighed on the other line. "Look I'm sorry. But seriously, it's no big deal."

"No big deal? No big deal! Ben, are you an idiot? THIS is a big deal to me!"

"Will you please stop screaming and repeating everything I say? Damn. Look, the problem can be easily solved. Just get yourself a partner," Ben said, sounding like he really didn't care about the situation, "shouldn't be that hard."

"The photo shoot is tomorrow," White snarled, "There is no one I can just suddenly call up. All the models here are taken."

"You called me," Ben mumbled, "Look, even if that snobby editor from that stupid magazine is in charge of this photo shoot, this thing is like a talent show – a way to allow novices to try and make it to the big top. I mean, I highly doubt any of the well-known models are there. I mean, is Elesa there?"

"W-well, no," Hilda mumbled.

"There you go," Ben said simply, "Stop worrying and just grabbed someone you can find."

"Are you crazy? That'll make me look desperate. And I can't just grab a random guy. That's against the rules!"

"Then say he's your boyfriend or something. I'm sure they allowed that in the guidelines." For someone who was half asleep, Ben was doing a pretty good job in remembering things. Too bad he didn't remember them earlier when Hilda actually needed the information.

"I don't have a boyfriend, Ben!" Hilda could feel her face burning with embarrassment at the thought despite the fact that it wasn't the issue at the moment. "Besides, everybody who knows me will find it suspicious if some random guy shows up, declaring to be my boyfriend. Even you!"

"Then lie and say you guys are having a long distance relationship or something and didn't see a point in mentioning him since he isn't around all that much. You can manage that much right?"

"Why do I get the feeling that you are the one with experience in lying?" Hilda asked suspiciously.

"No comment my little reporter. Look, Hilda, I got to get to work in a couple of hours. Can you let me get back to my beauty sleep?"

"What? But wait-!" However, the other line went dead and Hilda knew that even if she tried calling back, Ben wouldn't pick up. That stupid guy! She should've known better than to think this opportunity was too good to be true. Furious, she quickly slammed the phone back into its cradle and stormed out.

This was terrible! Now what? The party would end in four hours and tomorrow was the big day. There was no way she could grab someone in less than twenty-four hours. Maybe Sharon could let her borrow her model… wait, that won't do. It would look bad if models had the same partner.

Hilda was lost in her own thoughts and was walking so fast that she forgot to look in front of her.

BAM! Hilda crashed into something and fell on top of it. Groaning in pain, she looked down and realized that the person she hit was a guy wearing a blue jacket, long black cargo pants, and red muddy shoes. His hat was knocked to the ground, revealing his messy brown hair.

"Owww," the guy groaned and turned to see who in the world would hit him. Suddenly, Hilda's heart almost stopped beating for a moment. The moment when his brown eyes met her blue ones, Hilda couldn't help but stare back though she didn't understand why.

The guy wasn't even that attractive compare to others Hilda had met. He was slightly on the skinny side, about Hilda's age, and had a childish look but… there was something about him… something that made her…

"Oww, sorry miss," the guy mumbled, breaking the magical spell cast upon Hilda. The guy wormed his way out from the bottom of the pile and slowly got up while picking up his hat. He was about to leave when Hilda found herself grabbing onto the guy.

Hilda got up as the boy gave a startled look. _An opportunity! Wait, an opportunity for what now?_ Her brain suddenly played back the word that Ben had spoken earlier.

_Then say he's your boyfriend._

""W-what's the deal? Let go of me." The guy was trying to struggle away from Hilda's grasp but the girl realized that this was probably her only chance left. She quickly brought the guy closer to her face and inspected his. Hmm, he'll have to do for now. He looks terrified for some reason. The stranger was silent though his eyes were wide with fear.

_Come on, say it in a way that won't be too awkward._

"You! You have to become my boyfriend right now!"

…

Now there are probably many responses that a guy could say when put in a situation like this and all of them are probably good answers. However, Alex's brain decided to respond with the simplest one that the boy could handle and he stared fearfully with his eye twitching.

"Duuuuuhuhhhhhh?"

The girl didn't seem to have heard Alex's response or maybe took it as a 'yes' for she ran toward the crowd of people while dragging Alex behind her.

"No time for an explanation! What's your name?"

"A-Alex!" the boy sputtered, wondering why in the world he was answering this question to a complete stranger who wanted him to be her pretend boyfriend. Boy, was that a mouthful of words.

"Okay, I'm Hilda! Hilda White! We met two years back and are having a long distance relationship. Got it?"

Alex didn't have time to object since he was being pushed and shoved among the crowds of people that he had just seen from the sideline with Cheren. The frantic activity seemed to be worse here. Alex didn't have space to breathe and it took so much effort not to bump into someone and spill their beverages. Alex could feel a couple of curious glances looking at the back of his head but he didn't really have much time to dwell on it as Hilda dragged him to the outside of a small makeshift tent.

"Stay out here and DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE!"

Now where had Alex heard those words before? The girl who called herself Hilda slipped into the tent. Alex realized that there were many girls around here, all very skinny and dressed up in flashy outfits. They had suspicious looks on their faces and this time whispers surrounded them.

_"Who is that scrawny kid?"_

_"What was one of the models hanging around with him?"_

_"Her boyfriend?"_

_"If that's the case, then she must've been desperate."_

_"Maybe some friend of hers then."_

_"Why would she bring him here then?"_

Alex felt uncomfortable at this bunch of talk and was about to decide to leave when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! It's you again!" Alex looked up and saw that it was Sharon. She was carrying a lavender color satin dress that was wrapped in a plastic covering. She was the same as ever though this time she had a puzzle look on her face. "What in the world are you doing back here?"

But before Alex could say anything, the tent flap opened. The girl Hilda was holding a makeup kit and what appeared to be a blue collared shirt.

"Here, get in here and wea-! Sharon?" Hilda said sounding surprised.

"Hilda!" Sharon exclaimed, "Thank goodness I found you. I got your clothes cleaned and Terrance managed to get his agent to find another outfit that will fit you." Sharon tossed the lavender dress toward Hilda.

"Thanks, Sharon," Hilda said. Noticing Alex, she quickly grabbed his hand pulled him closer to her. Alex felt his face turn red though he couldn't really understand why. "By the way, I would like you to meet my boyfriend. His name is Alex." There was a long silence while Sharon was trying to process this information.

"Wait, hold on? WHAT?" Sharon gaped as though she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Alex was also having a difficult time to not show his surprised face either.

"There must be a mistake. I just met him a second ago and he never mentioned about you. Unless he suddenly got amnesia just a second ago, he can't be your boyfriend."

Oh the irony…

"Y-you have?" Hilda's face turned white with fear. Great, the one time she heeds Ben's advice and it falls flat to the first person that sees it.

"What is going on? Am I on some candid camera-?" Sharon never got to finish her sentence for Hilda dragged her and Alex back into the tent for privacy. The other models were definitely curious at the conversation going on and Hilda didn't want to blow it… even though it kind of already did.

"Sharon, shhh! Please I'm kind of desperate." Immediately, Hilda dived into the story, explaining not just to Sharon but also to Alex why Hilda decided to devise this plan.

"Are you daft?" Sharon said finally. "This guy is totally clueless when it comes to the hearts of women! There is no way he can pull it off." Alex didn't know if this was an insult or not. Sharon glanced back at him and added a "no offense."

"This is the only way! I'm kind of desperate," Hilda said, her face was brimming with tears.

"You could've told me. Maybe I can get someone."

"Sharon, the thing is tomorrow. There is no time left. The rules say it can be a boyfriend. He might not be up to bar but he is a living and breathing person." Again, Alex felt like he was being insulted. It was too much for him and Alex decided that he needed to speak up now.

"Look, I can't do this!" There was a silence as both girls turned toward him as though they just realized that he was there. Sharon, realizing her place, got up.

"Hilda, I'm going to leave this to you. This is something only you can fix. But I'll come back in a bit." With that Sharon left the tent, leaving the two 'pretend' couple alone.

Hilda and Alex didn't say a word. Hilda didn't know what to say as Alex took off his cap and started wring it nervously. After using context clues, Alex was starting to get the feeling that the word 'boyfriend' was not something to be taken lightly. Apparently, it is more than just being friends with a boy.

"I'm sorry," Hilda said finally spoke up, "But I really need your help!" She was fiddling around with the dress that Sharon had left for her. Alex grasped for the right words to say at a time like this. Unfortunately, his brain wasn't coming up with anything except the obvious.

"I don't know anything about this… modeling! This won't do you any good for your… competition!"

"I can teach you some basic stances," Hilda said desperately, "It won't be that hard. You can do-."

"That's not going to work and you know that."  
"But this is something really important to me. I'm sure you can remember-."

"I got more important things to worry about than this!" Alex exclaimed. The words stung Hilda but she didn't back down just yet. Her last chance was slipping and she could just give up yet.

"Like what? What kind of important things?" Alex looked away, trying to avoid the question. Hilda then realized what was going on.

Alex had a girlfriend.

That could only be the reason why he was so hesitant to help her in this manner. Oh Arceus, why didn't she ask that question first when she saw him?

"I… I…" Hilda found that she couldn't bring herself up to say anything. Her whole body was filled with nothing but shame and embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry," Alex said finally, "But… I can't." With that, he immediately left the tent, leaving Hilda all by herself. The boy stopped for a moment as though he wanted to say some words of comfort but then left. Silently, the girl felt her tears dripping down from her cheek, ruining the makeup. She never felt so stupid in her life.

…

Alex found himself wandering around, lost in the park. After making a girl cry for the first time in his amnesia life (well second if one counted Bianca), Alex was now trying to find Cheren. Unfortunately, the path he had taken gotten him lost and taken him into an empty plaza area at the side of the town. There was no one here except the shadows made by the light emanating street lamps as the wind blew litter across the park ground.

After that confrontation, Alex was guilt-ridden. He didn't mean to sound mean but right now, all he could think about was the fact that he had lost his memories. He could still remember the pained look on the person he couldn't even recognize to be his mother.

Still, the tears in that girl's eyes bugged him a lot right now.

Alex groaned in frustration at his mixed feelings. What to do? Maybe Cheren had the answer. He seemed to have a better grasp of the mystery of women than Alex did.

Alex's body instinctively reacted, jumping to the side and landing into a crouching position. Before Alex could understand why his body had done so, something metal slammed against the rocky ground where he had just been standing.

Wha-? What was going on?

Suddenly, Alex caught something in his peripheral vision and immediately leapt backwards; his body had moved on its own again. This time, it was a swiping noise, possibly from a knife. Then, everything clicked in Alex's brain. Someone was attacking him. But who?

Indistinctively, Alex reached for his Poke balls."Oshawott! Come out now!" The Pokemon popped out, looking excited. It turned its head to and fro, waiting for the enemy to show up. However, whatever attacked them immediately retreated back. Squinting in the darkness, Alex saw a shadow standing by one of the street lamps. Immediately, Alex could tell that this was the culprit.

"Who – who are you?" Alex demanded. "And why are you attacking me?"

"You," the guy whispered as he stepped into the light. His eyes were large and round as though he was in shock, yet they had a sense of power within the depths. Those eyes sent a shiver down Alex's spine.

"You," the man repeated, "You're supposed to be dead."

**Author's Notes**

Well, that's not a very nice thing to say! Lol. Guess we're going to have to find out what will happen next in the next chapter.

We finally figured out her name and the situation going on. Unfortunately, things don't look like its going to go well between the two.

All right for those who know, the 'third' game of Black and White is coming out. Who saw the design of the Zekrom's and Reshiam's fusion form? Awesome! XP Still, why in the world did they call it Black 2 and White 2? The name sounds really plain. Oh well. I wonder what new thing they will add.

Anyways, let's thank my reviewers before I go.

…

**Starran**

**Light-Sakura**

**Trainer-Ken**

**N the puppet**

**ZXCVBNMEM**

**karnivallo**

**Ketchum Kid**

**littlmiget123**

**SoulXProdigy**

**WildCroconaw**

…

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	10. A Man Named N

**Disclaimer: Really? Own Pokémon? Pffttt.**

Hey guys! I've finally made another update and guess what? It's super long! Whoo!

I'm pretty sure most of you guys have heard of the news on the new BW2 games which will be stuff I'll mention in the **Author's Notes** so please check it out.

Thanks **SinCityAssassin** for betaing this!

Anyways, enjoy guys!

**Chapter 9:**

It was a while before Sharon felt like checking up on her friend before she went back into the tent. "Alright, Hilda, I managed to get my partner Terrance to help out and–– Hey, where did Alex go?" Sharon noticed the lack of a nervous boy in the tent and Hilda… "Hilda? Are you crying?" Sharon shouted, alarmed as she rushed over to the girl.

"N-no," Hilda sputtered defiantly through tears. "I'm not." She tried really hard to wipe them away while trying not to look like she was. There were black smudges on her hands; her makeup was ruined from all the tears that were flowing down her face.

"Well, you certainly could've fooled anyone," Sharon groaned and grabbed the nearest tissue box she could find. "Here, and tell me what's going on. What happened between you and Alex? Did you guys break up already?" Though Hilda didn't want to say it at first but after a couple of sobs, she finally spilled everything that had happened and how Alex just abruptly left.

"I was so insensitive. I mean, I force him in here to act as my partner without considering his girlfriend or his feelings or-" Sharon suddenly slaps her hand over Hilda's mouth. They stayed there in silence for a few moments as Sharon tried and failed to say something several times. Hilda threw the make-up stained tissue into the trashcan and took her friends palm off her mouth. "Sorry you have to see me like this…" Sharon couldn't hold it in any longer and started to-

"BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you serious?" Sharon couldn't help but snort and giggle at the same time. If her manager saw her now he would've fainted from shock. The actress almost fell out of her chair, and her giggles slowly turned into roars of laughter.

"S-sharon?" Hilda was shocked at her friend's response to the situation at hand.

"You think that guy has a girlfriend?" Sharon snorted a little while she laughed, "Puh-leeeease. I could tell just by looking at him that there is no way he would even have a girlfriend. He probably doesn't even know what the word means."

"But… he wasn't very anxious to help. That's got to be only logical explanation, right?"

"Well that's stupid, did he tell you that he had a girlfriend?"

"W-well," Hilda faltered as she thought back to the moment. Her eyes went wide when she realized that throughout the entire conversation, not once Alex had mentioned having a girlfriend. "No," Hilda finally admitted, face now scrunched up in embarrassment, "but come on, why else would he run out on me?"

When Sharon had finally stopped laughing, she flicked the girl's forehead who yelped in the process.

"Ow!" Hilda rubbed her head.

"You're thinking too much. He's a guy, so the reason should be a lot simpler than that. I mean, men aren't that complex to understand."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well he's pretty shy; you'd have to be blind not to see him twitching when he was with us. Getting into a relationship like this out of the blue would make any guy get cold feet. So he freaked out and left."

"You think that's the reason?" Hilda asked bewildered.

"I know so," Sharon said firmly. "Look, just get him back and convince him to do it. I mean, he is your last option left. And personally, I rather you have him be your partner than someone else."

"Huh? Why?"

Sharon shrugged in response. "Call it women's intuition. Look, now is your chance to prove your willpower."

"What?" Hilda said, bewildered.

"Just bring him back. Show to him how much the fashion show means to you. Plus it'll be very romantic."

"But… he's already gone…" Sharon's eyebrows shot up in surprise at Hilda's still defeated tone. It was like the fiery passion and the determination she had known in her friend had disappeared, and she knew she didn't like that one bit.

"So what? You're just going to mope around like that?" Sharon shouted loudly as she got up. "What's the matter with you?"

"Huh?" Hilda blinked in surprise at her friend's sudden rise in tone.

"Come on, this isn't the Hilda I know. Don't make me say it again. Get on out there and get your man back!" Sharon grabbed Hilda and pushed her out of the tent. "Come on, I'm going to clobber that guy until he agrees."

"Sharon! Don't do that and besides, he's not my man!" Hilda objected, trying to dig her heels into the ground to stop Sharon from pushing.

"Oh come on. Of course he is! He's like your prince charming. He swept you off your feet right? I bet it was love at first sight." Sharon winked mischievously. "And," she added in a whisper, "He needs to be your boyfriend in order for him to be your partner. Good thing about a pretend boyfriend is that you can make up the most sappiest love story you can think off when you two get interviewed."

"He's not my boyfriend," Hilda repeated meekly. Oh gosh, what has she gotten herself into now?

"Sharon!" Her purple-suited manager shouted as he ran toward the open tent. "There you are! Come on, one of the reporters here wants to interview you. She heard about your work in Orre and is very interested in you."

"What?" Sharon said, her eyebrows arched up into the air, "Really?" Sharon was uneasy at the fact that her boss set up an interview at the worst time possible. "I don't know…."

"What's wrong? I went to a lot of effort to get this interview, let's get going!" Without hearing a single word, he grabbed and dragged Sharon back into the party.

"Sorry, Hilda!" Sharon called out to her in defeat, "You're on your own."

"What? But Sharon –!"

"Come on," Sharon said, grinning as she stood in place with a hand to her hip. Her manager was having such a hard time dragging his actress that her heels left a dirt trench into the ground; it was rather comical if one thought about it. "You need to have more confidence in yourself. You can do it! And don't let me see you back here until you get Alex back for good! Now GO!" With that, Hilda reluctantly ran off in the opposite direction as she weaved through the party. With the noisy scene behind her she reached the quiet end of the park. But… now what? Where should she start? Where in the world Alex could be now?

…

"What?" Alex said, not sure he heard correctly. Indistinctively, he took a step back. "Who are you?"

The stranger stepped under the streetlight and finally revealed himself. He was a young adult, couldn't have been older than twenty; he was rather tall and gangly, a long, unkempt green hair that was tied in a ponytail. He gave off an eerie demeanor as his cap casted a shadow over his face. Near him were several Pokémon – a Gurdurr, a Purrlion, a Tympole, and a Pidove, all of them glaring at the Alex for reasons he could not understand.

Alex's Oshawott looked ahead nervously as well. Its confidence dropped a couple of notches. It was extremely outnumbered, but nevertheless, tried hard to be brave like its trainer, Oshawott steeled itself and glared back at the four Pokémon.

"You… you do not recognize me?" the guy said, sounding slightly surprised. Alex hesitated for a moment, the whole amnesia thing really made trying to answer questions awkward.

"I think you have the wrong person," Alex said finally, deciding that it was best to play it safe. Perhaps this guy will try to explain the situation on hand. However, the mysterious man merely gave a careful look at Alex before a realization came across the guy's face.

"You've lost your memories, haven't you?" Alex flinched at the observation, which didn't go unnoticed under the guy's gaze.

"I'm relieved that it turned out like this," The mysterious man sighed as though a terrible weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He stared into the night sky. "Fate has been kind to both you and me." Alex couldn't believe this guy, he seemed really relax and peaceful now and it was beginning to feel unsettling.

"Fate? What are you talking about? How do you know me?" Alex said, his body shaking in anticipation. This guy seemed to know what had happened to Alex before he lost his memory. Unfortunately, whoever he was, he didn't seem all that interested in indulging about it. The green haired man directed his narrowed gaze at Alex's Oshawott, who squirmed with discomfort under his sight.

"I see you have a new Pokémon in your care… Can you hear it?"

"Huh?" Alex looked flabbergasted at the sudden change in subject. "What are you talking about?" he said, sharing a puzzled glace with his Oshawott.

"You still can't hear it? Your Pokémon's voice? That's disappointing…" The guy paused for a moment as he looked as his four Pokémon. "Let me introduce myself again. My name is N, and I can hear the words in your Pokémon's voice. If you can't hear them then your Pokémon do not stand a chance against me." Well, that certainly was a strange way to introduce oneself.

"You're not making any sense!" Alex looked furious. This guy was wasting Alex's time with all these mixed signals and nonsensical rants. "If you want to battle, then let's go! Oshawott, use Water Gun!" The little otter didn't need another second to think; it blasted a powerful squirt of water directly at the group of four Pokémon. However, the blue Tymole countered back with its own water attack. The two attacks pushed back and forth, trying to overpower each other. Taking advantage of the distraction, the other Pokémon had spread out into formation, with Purrlion using Fury Swipes at the otter Pokemon's side.

"Osha!" the little otter squealed in pain as the claws raked against its fur. It side stepped the Water Gun barrage and tried to fight back against the feline assailant, but the Purrlion merely dodge its attacks on its hind legs, twirling and dancing around like a ballerina before resuming its attack.

"Oshawott!" Alex exclaimed. However, Alex didn't have time to worry for the little otter as the Gurdurr had taken the chance to charge straight at the Pokémon trainer. It swung its large iron bar at Alex, aiming at his head, had not been for his quick reflexes Alex would've been a dead man.

"Your reflexes are as good as ever, just like the last time we fought," N said critically as Alex tried to run away from the onslaught of attacks. "However, your insistence in trapping your Pokémon in Poke balls will be your downfall. Look at your Pokémon; it won't win against my team." Alex gritted his teeth in frustration; the man seemed to be taunting him now.

"You said your name is N right? How in the world do you know me?" But that moment, Alex noticed Purrlion was backing Oshawott into a corner. Also, N's Pidove was attacking from the top, sending short jabs from its beaks onto Oshawott's head. The Pokémon was squealing in pain now.

Okay, put off questions until he got the advantage in battle. Alex couldn't let his Pokémon keep getting hurt like that. "Oshawott, take down that Purrlion with your Tackle."

The little otter immediately switched from defensive to offensive attacking and butted its head into Purrlion's face. However, the attack wasn't quick enough and the cat Pokémon merely sidestepped. But, it gave Alex enough time to run over and grab Oshawott before Pidove could retaliate with another attack. With a quick spurt of speed, Alex moved away in the other direction before Purrlion could attack him.

"Are you okay buddy?" Alex asked the little Pokémon. It whimpered in reply after being bullied. "Sorry about that." Alex quickly turned back to N.

"Two against one isn't fair. What kind of trainer are you?"

"I'm not a trainer," N said, feeling insulted and slightly angered. "These are not my Pokémon but my friends and my comrades. I'm different from you."

"So? I'm a trainer and Oshawott is my friend," Alex shot back.

"That's entirely different."

"How so?"

"You haven't changed a bit," N replied, shaking his head despairingly. "You are to bring nothing but despair in the future."

"What the hell are you even talking about?" Alex yelled in his rage. Soon the Pokémon trainer had to start to mull over his options, but Pidove and Gurdurr were coming in for an attack so Alex had to move quickly. Oshawott hadn't been trained long enough and there was no way it could win against four Pokémon at once. The best thing to do now was to retreat and get out of here.

"Where are you running? Pidove, use Air Cutter!" The little pigeon Pokémon immediately sent down slashes of air and it was sheer miracle that Alex wasn't hit. However, the attack caused his bag to open and something fell to the ground. Alex realized that it was the Pokedex and after a slight moment of hesitation, he turned so that he could pick it back up. Something told him he had to grab it no matter what.

"That Pokedex? You still had it with you?" N sounded horrified, looking at Pokedex in Alex's hand as though it were a hideous mutation. Alex was confused at this outburst; N's guard was absolutely shattered, his face not showing stoic disappointment, but abject disbelief. "I see. It looks like you haven't learned your lesson." Now he sounded mad, very real mad, he sounded absolutely _livid_. The Pokémon with him matched his sudden vicious demeanor and this time, they weren't just targeting Oshawott.

"Purrlion, Sucker Punch!" Alex was immediately hit by the feline's paw and the pain jolted through his stomach. Alex gasped in agony and fell to the ground on one knee. He never thought a cat could pack so much in one jab.

"OSHAWOTT!" The otter Pokémon immediately jumped out of Alex's arms and took its shell from its stomach. Then, like a sword it swiped against the Purrlion who merely dodged the attacks as elegantly as before. However, like earlier when it battled against Cheren's Snivy, Oshawott quickly lost its grip and the shell fell to the ground. Purrlion used this chance to do a flurry of Scratch attacks.

"It is because of the Pokedex that many of my friends are imprisoned into those Poke balls. That Pokedex brings nothing but despair. Their voices are trapped in those machines! Your Pokémon's voice is screaming out loud and clear and yet you can't hear it because you rely so much on imprisoning them! Gurdurr use Low Kick!"

Alex immediately crashed unpleasantly to the ground as Gurdurr connect the attack to his legs. Alex didn't even try to get up after this. His whole body felt weak with pain. Oshawott stopped its duel with the Purloin as it realized that its trainer was in danger and tried to take down Gurdurr, but Purrlion didn't like being ignored and attacked with a Fury Swipes from behind.

"Oshawott, hang in there!" Alex called out as he tried to ignore the ache. Panic swept through his mind.

Not good. This N guy was serious now so running away was no good. The only option now is to fight with more Pokémon. Alex took a Poke ball from his hand and threw it in front of the man. "Then, let's see if you can hear this Pokémon's voice!"

Immediately, a large and intimidating bird appeared right before, spreading its wings and giving out a loud battle cry. When the bird's sharp eyes focused on N, the Pokémon immediately screeched with extreme anger and without waiting for an order, dived down toward N. Tympole, who had been by N's side the whole time, sprayed a Bubblebeam attack but it didn't faze the flying Pokémon and merely swatted the bubbles with its powerful wings before pushing forward. However, Gurdurr immediately blocked Braviary. The Pokémon had immediately hurried to N's aid and used its metal girder to block the hostile attack.

"I see that _you_ still remember me at least," N said as he looked darkly into the Pokemon's eyes, which were filled with abhorrence. "Such a shame. Your trainer tried so hard to protect you from me, but in the end, it almost had him killed, his memories are lost… and you had failed him. Is that it?" N's taunts enraged the Braviary and it shot into the air, only to dive down at an immense velocity.

"Wait! War!" Alex called out in horror, realizing at his Braiviary was aiming to kill the man. However, N was prepared.

"Gurdurr, Rock Throw!" Gurdurr dug into the ground with its metal bar and scooped a couple large rocks into the sky and hit the bird Pokemon dead on. Braviary crashed to the ground from the incredible force of the effective attack. Meanwhile, Purrlion had finished playing around and kicked Oshawott, sending it flying into Braivary.

"Oshawatt! War!" Alex, ignoring the pain in his legs, ran to his two Pokémon. "Hang in there!" However, the trainer was stopped again, this time by N. He grabbed Alex by the arm with so much force that Alex felt his bones were about to be crushed. Pulling the trainer closer, N was inches from Alex's face, and the young trainer realized that his body was now uncontrollably shaking with fear at what was going to happen next.

"Even after everything I have said, you still hold on to that thing. You haven't changed a bit." Alex looked down and realized that N was staring at the Pokedex in Alex's hand. He didn't even realize that he was still clutching tightly onto it.

"I should've made sure you died in that forest." The words chilled Alex's heart. The way this N guy said it made it sound like…

"You," Alex realized, "You're the reason why I lost my memories."

…

So much for interview… Sharon knew immediately that her manager made a mistake. The reporter merely wanted a picture for the list of all the models that were in the talent show. Nothing special except her name next to her photo. And it won't even be in color… Sharon sighed, immediately bored.

"Sharon!" Sharon heard her name being called out while she was standing next to her manager who was trying to convince the reporter for something better. She turned to see a familiar face.

"Oh hey!" Sharon grinned, relieve that she has an excuse to leave. She quickly turned back to her manager and said, "Can you please excuse me for a moment?" Without waiting to hear an answer, Sharon quickly rushed over to the black hair kid, who looked as if he had been running for a mile and wasn't used to it. "Cheren, good to see you again. Did you find your friend? Wait, what was her name… umm, oh right, Bianca!"

"Actually, I'm looking for Alex at the moment," Cheren clarified, straightening his glasses as he quietly gasped for air. "Have you seen him?"

"What? Alex is missing?"

"After we left, I told him to stay put, but he ran off! I've been running everywhere in this entire park looking for him."

"I can see that. Also, you obviously need to exercise more," Sharon mentioned thoughtfully as she rudely wiped some sweat from his forehead before he swatted her hand away, "In Orre, you would've been easy target for pickpocketing."

"Back to the point. Have you seen Alex?"

"Oh, my friend is looking for him right now. Maybe she found him?"

"Friend? Why is your friend looking for him?"

"Wait, you don't know?" Sharon shook her head in amazement. "Wow, I guess Hilda was telling the truth when she said she just randomly found him out in the open."

"Wait. Hold on. Mind bringing me back to the beginning?" It was always as if each answer she gave simply raised more questions, Cheren didn't have time for any of that.

"Hmm, guess I'll have to give you the cliff note version and quick. In that case, I say we go look for both of them."

"What about the party? Aren't you supposed to stay here?"

"Oh please, I'm bored here. I just finished my interview and now I'm freaking bored. Everybody talks in _such a fancy and exquisite voice that it's making me peeuuuuke_." Sharon mimicked the aristocratic voice with quite good accuracy while blinking her eyes very fast and held her hand to her forehead as though she was going to faint.

"That was mildly unsettling." Cheren couldn't believe how well Sharon displayed her ability to act. It was like she could be two different people and one wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"Urgh, tell me about it," Sharon went back to her normal rugged voice. "Come on. If you searched the entire park, then that means there is only one place left I can think of that we can find Alex."

…

"Alex? Alex!" Hilda called out into the night as she ran. Her boots hit the gravel ground, making strange eerie echoes into the night. She walked around the outside of town, wondering where the guy went off. She figured that Alex would probably be inside somewhere right now, since it was so late at night. The question was where. She knew that with the fashion show, vacant hotel rooms would be scarce; Accumula Town wasn't a tourist destination, at least it wasn't built for this many at once. Hilda then suddenly had the crazy thought of him camping outside in the plaza, and for whatever reason she decided to go there.

As Hilda entered the empty plaza, she heard noises that seemed to unfit the area. It sounded like… someone was battling. Then, right in front of Hilda, a large something came crashing by and slammed against the wall, a loud thud erupted when it fell to the ground. After her heartbeat sped up like twenty beats faster, Hilda got closer and gasped out when she finally recognized who was in front of her.

"A-Alex?" The boy was in terrible, Alex's clothes were all muddled with dirt and his hat had fallen off his head, revealing his messy brown hair, his face was scrunched in agony. Hilda crouched down next to Alex and immediately got him into a sitting position, placing his back against the wall.

"Alex? Are you okay? What happened to you?"

"G-get away," Alex groaned in pain. What? Did she hear him correctly? Get away…?

"You heard him. Move away, miss." Hilda turned around to the sound and saw a person coming toward her, a Tympole following closely behind him. Hilda got up and realized that the person was quite taller than she was, older too. His malicious gaze sent a shiver down Hilda's spine, as she realized that he was the one hurting Alex.

"What are you doing? You don't use Pokémon to hurt people!" Hilda stood up defiantly, shielding Alex from the man. He stopped and slowly looked from Hilda to Alex.

"H-Hilda… don't…"

"Do you know him?" the mysterious man suddenly shifted his eyes towards Hilda, who only glared back.

"Get away," Alex repeated weakly. Hilda ignored Alex's comment and from her bag, took out a Poke ball, showing it to the stranger.

"I know him well enough to stop you from hurting him. If it's a fight you want, then battle me." Although N didn't show it, he was taken aback by the abrupt turn of events. He didn't fight women; it was not part of the conduct he followed.

"Let's go Jessica!" Hilda threw the Poke ball and it revealed a small pink Deerling. It stomped its hooves against the ground, eager to battle. "Don't look down on me just because I'm a girl!" N didn't have time to respond to this before Hilda gave an order to attack. She wasn't going to waste a precious second.

"Jessica, use Leech Seed!" The little deer Pokémon shot a barrage of glowing seeds that latched all over tadpole Pokémon. Vines sprouted out and wrapped tightly around the Tympole. "Good! Use Double Kick!" Tympole didn't have time to try and break the vines before being struck twice by the deer's hind legs. The force was powerful enough to send the Pokémon flying back and slamming into the ground, twitching. The little Deerling squealed with joy, as it seemed it had easily defeated its opponent. It eagerly stomped its hooves to the ground and kicked up some dust in the process.

"Leave now, before I start getting serious!" Hilda snapped in a slightly threatening tone. However, the man wasn't even fazed by the attack. He had gotten over his shock now and was ready to battle.

"You too. You can't hear their voices, you only use them like tools. Without even considering their feelings!" Suddenly, from the night sky, something started to attack Deerling. "Pidove, use Gust!" Pidove flapped its wings, sending blasts of wind to the ground. Meanwhile, Purrlion was in the back and used its claws to cut the vines that bonded Tympole.

"Jessica!" Hilda exclaimed as the poor Pokémon got hit by the flying attack. Hilda didn't expect to be battling against more than one Pokémon and Pidove's attack surprised her. "Hang in there. Try a Sand Attack!" Deerling kicked up sand at the flying Pidove, however, the Gust attack caused the sand fly everywhere and making it hard to see. Hilda cursed herself, she was in an open area, and so Pidoves attacks were unhindered by any sort of obstacles.

"Gurdurr, use Low Kick!" The muscle Pokémon popped out of nowhere and moved steadily against the strong wind. It immediately slammed against Deerling, who yelped in pain.

"Oh no!" Hilda watched in horror as her Deerling crashed to the ground in front of her. Fighting attacks were effective on the normal and grass type Pokémon. Hilda needed to switch Pokémon if she wanted to get Alex out of here alive. "Jessica! Return!"

"You dare run away?" N demanded angrily. Gurdurr slammed its metal bar against the ground, causing a strong vibration to scatter through the area like ripples in a pool of water.

Hilda stumbled and fell onto to the ground, landing unpleasantly. At the same time, her ankle twisted underneath her. Pain shot up from her leg and Hilda could feel her brain froze as it slowly started to realize the severity. "Ahhh!" Immediately in tears, she grabbed her foot in agony. She tried hard to dull the pain from her mind.

"Tymp!" Hearing the sound, Hilda looked up at the sudden closeness of the sound and saw that Tympole had broken free from the Leech Seed attack. It didn't look happy at all as it glared at the injured girl. Hilda didn't even realize that she was being targeted until it was too late.

"Get out of my sight," N said, holding out his hand in Hilda's direction. "Tympole, use Hydro Pump!"

It was no use. She couldn't dodge an attack like that with an injured leg. Petrified, Hilda closed her eyes and cringed, waiting for the attack to hit… but it never came. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw that someone had blocked the attack from her.

"A-Alex?" Somehow, the boy had managed to get up and rushed forward recklessly to take the damage from the water attack.

"L-leave her alone. It's me you want, right?" Alex gasped, soaking wet, as he stood as a shield for Hilda. Droplets of water fell from his hair and face and he was shivering slightly from the cold. Alex looked as though he was on the verge of collapsing and it was sheer determination that was keeping him standing. "My Pokémon can still fight so let's continue our battle!" Next to him, Briavary and Oshawott stood on Alex's side. Both Pokémon looked tired but they gave no sign of giving up yet as they glared at N.

"You're still standing after all that?" N spoke in a soft voice. His Pokémon regrouped next to him as well and glared back at Alex's Pokémon. "Look at you. Your Pokémon are almost finished. You can't win this fight without listening to their voices like I do. Your Pokémon are screaming for you to hear them yet you keep ignoring it. Eveyrbody is like this. You see why? This is why Pokémon can never live in happiness with humans!" Tears were streaming down from N's eyes.

"SHUT UP!" Alex erupted; his voice echoed the entire plaza. "Quit your whining and shut up!" There was a stunned silence at this sudden uproar and after several bouts heavy breathing, Alex continued.

"You're telling me that Pokémon can't live in harmony with humans?" Alex pointed to Oshawott and Braivary. "Do you see any unhappiness in my Pokémon? NO! We are bonded together by working together. I might not have been a Pokémon trainer for too long, but me and my Pokémon trust each other! Good friends are those who have been together through thick and thin!" He was bursting with rage, yet he couldn't understand how in the world he could still have the courage to speak. All he knew that he was definitely speaking from his heart – what he believed in.

"I can't hear their voices as well as you can. That is why I use this Pokedex, it's a way to help me understand my Pokémon. To understand all Pokémon! Maybe one day, I will hear their voices, but right now it's an aid to help understand. It's the least I can do after all they've done for me!" He suddenly pointed at the stunned man. "Unlike you! You knew the torture you were putting my Pokémon through, but you kept attacking anyways. You're nothing but a freaking _hypocrite_!"

Hilda couldn't help but stare in awe as she listened to Alex; his sheer determination and courage had impressed her.

The whole plaza fell silent except the gulps of exhaustion from Alex as he tried to recover from yelling. N didn't move at all. He stared in Alex's direction, but he wasn't exactly looking at him. Time ticked slowly by, the two trainers waiting on bated breath, wondering what would happen next. It didn't have to wait long.

"Ayaka! Use Shock Wave!" A burst of high intensity electricity came crashing down between Alex and N as though to stop the two from fighting. The sudden new voice and the sudden attack surprised N and he looked to see who it was.

"How DARE you hurt my friends!" Sharon shouted, venom dripping from her voice. Her orange hair seemed to amplify her fury. Next to her was a Delcatty, its tail crackling with electricity. Sharon pointed toward the next target. "Ayaka! Take down that Tympole with an Iron Tail!"

"Nyaa!" Delcatty immediately rushed forward and slammed its tail against the weakened Tympole, which immediately fainted.

"Sharon?" Hilda exclaimed, shocked at the timely appearance of her friend though she was relieved as well. "What are you doing here?" At that moment, Alex, from exhaustion, finally collapsed the ground for the final time. "Alex!" However, Alex was unconscious now and didn't reply. The last of his energy had been drained. His Pokémon quickly rushed to his side, hoping to revive the boy.

"You over there! Get Alex out of there!" the boy called out from behind Sharon. Hilda managed to see that this boy was wearing glasses before he was swallowed up in the battle as well. "Snivy, use Vine Whip!" The grass type Pokémon immediately, sent out two long, green whips and lashed at the Gurdurr. The Pokémon roared in pain and tried to attack the agile Snivy, with Sharon's Delcatty was now fighting against Purrlion.

"Are you the one who did this? Huh? Because if you did, you're going to regret it!" N ignored Sharon and took the fainted Tympole into his hands. He stared at the situation before him and seemed to be deciding something. Then he turned to Pidove who had been hovering over him the entire time.

"Gust, now!" Immediately the whole area was blasted with wind. Sand blew up everywhere, making it hard to see.

"Trying to run away? Not this time pal!" Sharon yelled, trying to see where she was. She coughed as the sand flew into her mouth. Squinting her eyes, Sharon turned to her Delcatty who had lost its target. "Ayaka, don't let that guy get away!" However, the sand that was buffeted in the wind was making it impossible for either Sharon's or Cheren's Pokémon to fight.

On the other side, Hilda, gritting her teeth, tried to get up and walk over to Alex. She needed to get the both of them to safety. However, the pain in her leg forced her to limp away. Just as she reached Alex, she noticed a pair of shoes before her. Horrified, Hilda looked up to see the strange green hair man right before her. He ignored Hilda's terrified look and seemed to be more focused on Alex's unconscious body. After a long silence, he spoke.

"Very well, I'll let you live. I'll wait and see if you can hear the voices. And maybe then, you'll be able to understand what I'm trying to say. You'll understand the pain the Pokémon go through…" Then the sand enshrouded him like a veil and once the sand had stopped blowing, he had disappeared, along with the Pokémon that were with him.

"He got away! That freaking coward!" Sharon was furious and stomped the ground in frustration. Still fuming, she returned her Delcatty back into its Poke ball. She turned to Cheren and mashed her fist into her palm several times. "That guy… if I see him again-oooooh if I see him again…"

"I think we should be more concerned with the question – who was that guy?" Cheren couldn't believe what he had witnessed. This was definitely not what he had expected on his first day traveling as a Pokémon trainer.

Cheren had no idea what was going on earlier, but from what he had seen when Sharon and he literally stumbled upon the scene… Cheren then remembered his friend still on the ground. The injured brown hair girl was trying to shake Alex awake but there was no response. "Alex!" Cheren rushed over to Alex's side and immediately checked up on him.

Hearing Alex's slow breathing, Cheren sighed in relief, "He's not badly injured…but I think he needs to get patched up and get a nice rest." The glasses trainer then turned to Alex's two injured Pokémon. Despite their wounds, they seemed to be more concerned of their trainer's.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine," Cheren reassured the two Pokémon. "Here, you two will need to get to the Pokémon Center." Cheren took the Poke balls and returned the two Pokémon. "Get a good rest. You have done well."

"Hilda, are you okay?" Sharon asked, rushing over to her friend. "Oh my gosh, I should've never had left you out here by yourself. I can't believe how dangerous this place is. Did that guy hurt you?"

"No, but I-I think I twisted my ankle," Hilda answered back grimly and showed the swollen bruise on her leg.

"Oh no, that's not good," Sharon said, wincing at the sight. "We need to get you back to the hotel and get an icepack." Without skipping a beat, Sharon lifted Hilda up from the ground. "Here, lean on me so you don't injure that foot anymore."

"Wait, hold on. What about Alex?" Cheren asked, pointing to his friend.

"I'm pretty sure a strong guy like you can carry him," Sharon smiled sweetly though there was a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"You're kidding right?" Cheren said baffled. There was no way he could do that. The heaviest thing Cheren had ever carried were books not bodies.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you're actually a bookworm with no upper body strength," Sharon said in a teasing voice. However, Sharon took a Poke ball out and opened it to reveal a green Flygon. Sharon spoke a few words to it and the dragon Pokémon quickly grabbed Alex and placed it safely onto its back. Cheren quickly grabbed the other things as though to prove he could still be of use.

"Setsuna will help you," Sharon said happily before speaking in a more serious tone, "Now come on before that guy gets reinforcements or something."

**Author's Notes**

Well, now that was a lot of action.

Moving on, IMPORTANT NEWS! I'm guessing that all of you have already seen the new BW2 'anime' game trailer. First off, that was the most awesome Pokémon anime I've seen for a long time (even though it was less than ten minutes of awesomeness). I would gladly pay money to watch that as a real series. This is what the people doing the anime should do – new main characters that actually grow older, show more cool evil villains, awesome battles. Even if they're never going to make Ash older (which still makes me mad) at least bring some sense of coolness like they did in that trailer. Of course one of the big things that bugged me in that trailer was that the 'hero' had only one Unova Pokémon shown (though that scene with Arcanine was awesome!). Shouldn't they show him with more Unova Pokémon since this is a BW game? Guess the people who made this trailer thought the Pokémon from the older generations were way cooler. Lol.

Now, several of you guys have asked this question but I'm going to go ahead and mention this to everyone. **No, I'm not going to make this story into a BW2 storyline**. I'm not changing gym leaders or have anything that pertains to BW2. I might hint stuff leading to BW2 timeline but other than that, expect this story to be all BW. Why? Because gosh dang it, the game hasn't even come out yet.

Second important announcement. **THIS IS A CHALLENGE!** Yes, that's right – a challenge. I'm challenging all your readers to a special competition. If this story can get 150 total reviews before I update the next chapter (in other words, you guys should be able to win this since I take forever to update) which should be around the end of July, then I'll not just update one but TWICE. That's right, TWICE! And the special second update will be a side story about Alex, Cheren, and Bianca. Of course, if the story doesn't reach the goal, then no special update and instead there will only be a sad face instead. Lol.

So, challenge accepted?

All right, now, let's thank my reviewers before I go.

…

**Eevee1118**

**ZXCVBNMEM**

**Light-Sakura**

**Ketchum Kid**

**littlmiget123**

**Trainer-Ken**

**Banana Aeon**

**N the puppet**

**Whitoath**

**Amy47101** (Hmm, I guess this chapter answered your question. Thanks for the review.)

**A Midsummer Night's Dream **(Lol. Well, I didn't want to name the hero 'Black' because that'll lead to very awkward introductions… Hmm, you're right about naming your rival thing for most of the games though at least in DP game, Professor Rowan had a legitimate excuse. And lol, I don't even know N's real name. Too lazy to remember. XP Anyways, thanks for the review.)

…

Well, that's it from me so see you in the next chapter. Let's see if we can reach the 150 review mark. XO

**-JapanDreamer**


	11. The Girl

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokémon.**

Hey guys! Finally, the update that I promised more than a month ago. Sorry about that. I had a lot of stuff to do and it forced me behind schedule.

Thanks **SinCityAssassin** for betaing.

Well, enjoy the chapter.

**Chapter 10:**

Alex jolted up from his bed; only afterwards did he feel every muscle in his body ache in protest. He looked around, not recognizing his environment. There the room had red velvet curtains and soft carpet floor, and the bed itself had a canopy. He gave the room another look over and saw Cheren exhausted and snoring loudly on a large sofa a couple of feet. Apparently he was so tired that he forgot to take off his glasses and they hung lopsided on his face. As Alex moved a bit forward for a closer look, he was blinded by the light that shown through the elegant curtains.

Shielding his eyes, Alex gave a big yawn as he scratched his head. He still felt a bit dizzy and had to keep his bearings together. As he groaned weakly as he slowly lifted himself off the bed, his muscles were still sorely aching. He tried to start stretching in a bit; else he'd be walking like Frankenstein for the rest of the day.

"Alex, you're awake," a voice sighed in relief, "I was getting worried there. Oh gosh, it's already the afternoon?" Alex turned around and saw Cheren "majestically" trying to get up after almost tumbling out of the sofa. Cheren tried to straighten himself and patted his messy hair down. "How are you feeling? You gave us quite a scare." Slowly, everything started coming back to Alex.

"Hold on, what happened? Where are we? Where's Hilda? How are my Pokémon? What happened to N?" Alex began freaking out as he asked questions left and right. Last night's events had a clear effect on him. That man he met last night, N… it sounded like he wasn't finished with him yet.

"Whoa, slow down Alex," Cheren said, groaning like he was dealing with a major headache. He quickly turned to the small kitchen and grabbed a drink of water. After a good sip, Cheren continued. "To answer your questions, we're in a hotel; Hilda lent us her room and slept with Sharon for the night. As for Hilda herself… she's doing okay. She just left to do her photo shoot. Your Pokémon are fine; they're in the Pokémon Center. As for the guy the guy who attacked you…" Cheren fell silent and Alex understood; N got away.

"You scared us big time," Cheren continued on, "When we found you and Hilda like that, Sharon almost went ballistic… well, she did but…" As Cheren trailed on, Alex remembered vaguely that he was yelling at N about something before collapsing to the ground. After that, he couldn't remember. He must've passed out by then.

"So… no one was hurt?"

"You're kidding me, right?" Cheren said simply, arching his eyebrows in disbelief, "You were half dead. Hilda said that that guy's Pokémon was already beating you up when she found you. The doctor yesterday said you needed a lot of rest and gave some painkillers. Any of this ringing a bell to you?" Cheren looked expectedly at Alex as though hoping for some answers. However, Alex didn't say anything. He finally found the culprit who was responsible for taking his memories, but… he didn't think this was something he could share yet.

"Well, you know… it was… sort of…"

"If you don't want to tell me then don't tell me."

"Huh?"

"Oh please," Cheren scoffed, "You were never one to hide secrets, neither was Bianca, your face is basically an open book." Alex mocked a disgusted face at the comment. "You're also not a good liar. We agreed a long time ago that I wouldn't press either of you for answers while you promise that when you'd be ready, you'd tell me."

"Oh…" Alex wondered if that were a good thing or not. Before Cheren could say anything else, there was a rapping sound at the door. It kept going and going until wide-eye Cheren opened the door to see who it was.

"Oh, hello Shar-OOF!" Cheren was pushed aside by the orange-haired actress as she charged straight at Alex. Sharon's face was so terrifying that Alex actually flinched.

"YOU."

"H-hey, Sharon. Did something happen?"

"What happened?! What happened was that YOU ruined Hilda's career with that stupid little stunt of yours. Do you understand that you almost got her killed?!"

"Wha-?" Alex didn't have time to act anymore surprised because Sharon grabbed Alex by the shoulders leaned close as though she was going to pulverize the teenager.

"S-Sharon! Calm down!" He was downright terrified, but Cheren managed in himself to try and pull Sharon's grasp away from Alex.

"I never thought you could be such a coward, leaving a girl in distress like that. She practically saved your life and you're standing here like an idiot! Where is your freaking _CHIVALRY_?"

"Huh?" Alex still looked terrified, but there was confusion on his face. Sharon revealed in one of her hands a tux on a hanger and a pair of shiny black shoes.

"Hilda is having a photo shoot in less than an hour. Now, I want you to go in that bathroom, change into this, and I'm going to teach you everything about photo shoot and you will remember EVERYTHING!

"Now get in there and change!" Sharon shoved the suit into Alex's arms and pushed him into the bathroom, frightful confusion still written on his face. "And don't think about escaping through the window because I got security waiting at the bottom!" She slammed the door shut and after a good ten minutes of Sharon breathing through her mouth as though she had just run a marathon, she brought her hand up to her place, pitched her fingers and slowly lowered them in a gesture. Cheren decided to break the silence after that.

"You weren't even that mad, were you?"

"Not at all," Sharon immediately grinned; all the anger evaporated from her face, replaced with a mischievous grin. She slumped down on the sofa and gave a good stretch and relaxing sigh. "The good thing about being an actress is being able to put out a show like _that_."

…

Hilda sighed, as she stayed seated inside the tent. She had no idea why she was here; except for the fact Sharon forced her. Sharon said she found her a partner for this whole thing, yet no one was here and the shoot was starting in less than fifteen minutes. As she slumped in her seat, she was at least grateful it was cool under the tent; apparently Sharon had managed to bully someone into put a small fan in there.

"What's wrong, Hilda?" Hilda saw Lurvina, poking her head into the tent. As always, she looked glamorous, and her snobbish face strongly implied that she knew it. She wore her frilled, pink dress sashed with green ribbon adorned with stones that shone in the light and was holding a lovely bouquet of roses, so lovely in fact that even Hilda couldn't help but feel jealous. But Lurvina didn't come here out of concern but to flaunt, and she wanted to bring out the big guns.

"Hello Lurvina. I see that you're finished."

"Of course, and my partner was absolutely magnificent. The cameraman told me that I was a guarantee for the front page….

"Though, such a shame about that photo shoot coming up without a partner, you look so pretty in that dress too," Lurvina said in a sarcastic voice as she gestured to Hilda's lavender dress. "At least you won't look like you puked on this one."

"Well, at least _my_ dress doesn't need resizing like some people," Hilda retorted. Lurvina's face turned as red as the roses.

"I'll have you know that my dress was resized because I_ lost_ weight." Still red around the ears, Lurvina left in a huff, no doubt to find a salad bar or something. Hilda sighed as she checked the digital clock. Less than ten minutes now and still no 'partner'.

"Well, guess I should go."

"Already? Did I miss the photo shoot?" Hilda jumped in surprise at the voice and turned to the sound. "H-hey there, Hilda," Alex mumbled, sounding embarrassed. He was wearing a tux that didn't fit him all that well; at least the shoes he was wearing were the right size. Alex didn't look the sort to comb his hair, but apparently someone did, as his hair was nicely combed in place, though it seemed slightly rushed. Overall, Alex looked a tad bit worn, but presentable. "How do I look?"

"Y-you came," Hilda said, awestruck, not by his attire but by the fact that he was even here. She must be dreaming; yes, that has to be it. There was no way this miracle could happen right now.

"Well, yeah," Alex said, tugging on the tie as though it was choking him, "You kind of saved me yesterday so I feel like I owe you the favor… And don't worry about the photo shoot. Sharon gave me a couple of pointers so I think I can manage… and these are for you." Alex sounded like he rehearsed this speech as he handed over a bunch of wildflowers tied together by a messy ribbon. There was really nothing special about them compared to Lurvina's beautiful roses. Alex gave a rather nervous smile despite his shaky reassuring voice. Hilda blinked gratefully and tried very hard to not feel overwhelm with emotions as she took the flowers.

"Well, in that case," Hilda said in a sort of business-like manner, "I'm grateful for your help. But we have a lot of work to do in order to get the best photo." Hilda gave Alex a good hard stare. "Make sure you don't mess up. Now, come on. We're going to be late."

"R-right!" Alex said, sounding flustered for sure, he shifted a bit, not knowing exactly what to do.

"All right then, we'll try the easy poses," Hilda tried to walk over to where she kept her shoes and almost fell in the process. Her ankle was throbbing in pain, though Hilda tried to ignore it.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, worried, "Are you okay?"

"Nothing, it's nothing. It's just my ankle," Hilda muttered as she tried to get her high heels on without wincing too much. Alex caught a glimpse, however, and realized that she had gotten injured from yesterday's battle. Immediately, Alex started to feel guiltier than before.

"You shouldn't walk on that leg, you're gonna make it worse."

"It doesn't matter. When you're modeling, you should never show pain. If I can't do that at least, then I'm certainly can't call myself a model, now can I?" Hilda replied back, determined to prove so. However, wearing heels made the walking feel even worse. She tried standing up, but her legs were wobbling before she buckled from the sheer pain. Luckily, Alex was quick enough to catch her bridal style before she hit the floor. This startled Hilda sure, but Alex just stayed there kneeling on the floor with a dry look on his face.

"Ok yeah, you should keep your weight off that leg," Alex said in a matter-of-fact voice as he held Hilda carefully in his arms as he stood up. Hilda's mind finally registered the position they were in and went completely blank as warning sounds blared through her head.

Alex was carrying her! Like they were… Like they were newlyweds or something! And the people. Oh no. There were so many other models staring at them and Alex didn't seem to even have a clue as to the degree of embarrassment of the situation.

"L-let go of me!" Hilda exclaimed as she tried to kick her way back down to the ground. However, Alex didn't seem fazed by this violent behavior though he did stumble a bit from the amount of weight he now had to carry. His strength was not fully back but Alex refused to let Hilda continue to walk injured.

"Don't worry," Alex said calmly, as if holding a flailing girl was something he did every other day, "I'm just carrying you to the place. It'll be easier on you."

"Why are you doing this?" Hilda muttered, slapping her hand to her forehead. "Do you realize how embarrassing this is for me?"

"It's because you're my girl. That's how it is for the shoot right?" Alex looked at Hilda's now widened blue eyes as he continued to walk for the set. It was obvious by how straightforward he sounded that the boy did not have a clue what those words mean.

Still, the comment had taken Hilda aback and she averted her eyes away from his as she felt her own face heat up. This was embarrassing! A guy she barely knew was actually holding her this close to him like there was something more going on between them than necessary! What was she to do? She was probably going to be the laughing stock! She sighed to herself as she laid her head against Alex's chest without realizing. She could hear his heartbeat clearly.

Thump, thump. It felt calm and soothing, it's amazing how he could do this really, and he wasn't even stressing out. Somehow Hilda felt a strange sense of security knowing this; she closed her eyes, listening to the rhythmic pounding. Hilda knew that Alex clearly didn't know the implications of what he said, but she decided to let it go, just this once.

The shoot was on a third floor balcony in a building straight ahead from Hilda's tent. Alex and Hilda managed to make it to the set through dodging traffic jams of rushing pedestrians and enduring a few flights of stairs. A quick glance revealed that there seemed to be no one around, of course, Alex and Hilda were running a bit late.

"That's odd," Alex commented, "Aren't there supposed to be people here?" And as though to suddenly answer his question…

"Oh, you must be Hilda!"

"Huh?" Alex and Hilda turned around and saw a man around a late twenties and wearing a flat cap. If Hilda wasn't red before, she was now.

"Mr. Tobbin!" Hilda squeaked in shock as the editor of the _Hot Random!_ Magazine came toward her.

"Please, call me Charles," the man smiled and graciously shook Hilda's hand before giving it a light kiss. "I've heard so much about you." Hilda looked like she was about to faint from happiness. Alex looked confused, since he didn't really recognize the guy anyhow. "And you are?" the capped man asked him

"Uh… Alex," he managed. Mr. Tobbin gave a small grin.

"A fine, strong name!"

"B-but," Hilda stuttered, "how-?"

"Ben called me," the man said pleasantly, "Said that you had exceptional talent and I had to see you no matter what."

"Did he?" Hilda made a note to personally call Ben and thank him.

"Yes, he and I went to the same college, you see. A bit of a rivalry in a few subjects but we're still good friends… come to think of it though I think he's still bitter that I always win at poker. But enough of that," the man changed the subject before he had a chance to ramble, "I can see why he had to get me here, seems like you got an amazing work ethic if you come to the shoot in character from the start. JD! Eric! Let's get a few shots! We don't have a moment to spare; we have to capture Hilda and her partner right now!"

"Huh?" Hilda said, sounding as though she was in daze. Immediately a cameraman and a photographer popped out from behind Mr. Tobbin.

"I love it! Mr. Tobbin, she is a genius," he exclaimed and before Hilda could figure out what he meant, the photographer was already at work.

_Flash!_ _Flash!_ _Flash!_ Brilliant flashes of light dazed Alex and Hilda, the bulb's filament fizzed down as the photographer looked at his handiwork. The cameraman kept shooting the video, giving a thumbs-up. During the pause, they looked at each other and Hilda realized that Alex was still holding her. _Flash!_

"I-I-I," Hilda found herself stammering again as she tried to get down while trying hard not to look red.

"No, no, no! Stay like that! It's perfect!"

"B-but!" Hilda protested uselessly to the flashes of lights at her face.

"You're going to be a star!" _Flash!_

"Hey, isn't this great?!" Alex said grinning foolishly, "They love you."

Hilda gave a weak smile and had no choice but to let Alex carry her for this part of the shoot.

…

_Two hours later…_

"You guys leaving already?" Sharon looked disappointedly at both Alex (back in his normal clothes) and Cheren. Including Hilda, the four of them were back in the hotel room. She had been quiet the whole time as Alex and Cheren prepared to leave. "Oi, there's a party later. You should stick around."

"Love to, but we have to go," Cheren said, "We're still looking for our friend. Still, thanks for everything."

"No problem, but…" Sharon dragged Cheren away from Alex and Hilda and whispered, "What about that N guy? I haven't called the authorities because you told me not to."

"I'm doing some research right now. This N guy… I have a feeling that telling the police will lead to more trouble, and I have a gut feeling he's targeting Alex for a specific reason."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know, but Alex needs to get to Striaton City to get this straightened out."

"What do you mean he 'needs to get to Striaton City'?"

"It's… complicated," Cheren said, not wanting to talk about Alex's amnesia, but Sharon didn't look happy with the answer.

Meanwhile, during this whispered discussion, Alex and Hilda were left alone. Seconds slowly pass by as neither of them knew what to say.

"Sorry about the leg," Alex said, motioning to Hilda's bandaged ankle. She had a crutch now after Sharon insisted and wouldn't take no for an answer

"It's okay," Hilda muttered. "You saved my photo shoot, so we're even." Another long silence filled the room shortly after.

"Sooooo…uh… see you later, I guess?" Alex asked, shuffling around, unsure on to what to say.

"Yeah," Hilda said, looking anywhere except at Alex. "See you, I guess."

"Oh my Arceus, this is boring!" Sharon rolled her eyes in annoyance at the two. "Look both of you; stop acting like you're a bunch of shy school kids!" Hilda blushed red while Cheren coughed in embarrassment before grabbing oblivious Alex and headed to the door.

"Well, it was nice to meet you two and… thanks for everything."

"See you." Alex managed to wave goodbye before Cheren slammed the door shut.

"Alright, that went well," Sharon quipped, grinning at Hilda, "I can't wait to see Lurvina's face when she realizes that she didn't get the front page."

"It's not a guarantee, you know."

"Oh come off it. After what you told me, Lurvina would totally flip." Sharon cackled with excitement as she grabbed a cup of water to drink.

"The party should be fun. At least I can wear some regular clothes for once."

"Sharon, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Did you tell Alex to tell me that I was his 'girl'?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sharon said innocently, though she didn't even try to hide her part in it.

"_Sharon_." Hilda groaned.

"Well, depends on if he also said the REST of what I told him to say too, probably not though," she continued, grinning evilly.

"What?! Sharon!"

"Don't worry," Sharon winked. "I'm pretty sure Alex doesn't even know what he even said."

…

_Meanwhile…_

"Good, we finally got our Pokémon back. I can't believe how long the line was. Well, we should be able to make it Straiton before sundown. I'm sure we'll see Bianca there, it's not like she'd up and go any further than that without hitting their famous café. I know how she is when it comes to places like that." Cheren explained rapidly, looking at the map he had brought from home. Alex had a perplexed look on his face as the both of them continued down Route 2.

"Cheren, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm, what's up?"

"When you tell a girl that she's 'your girl', what does that mean exactly?"

For a large span of their trip, Cheren couldn't see straight due to Alex's sheer ignorance.

**Author's Notes**

Sooo, I guess we can all agree that Alex is never going to get a girlfriend. Lol.

Anyways, a small update that you guys probably all know by now. I wanted to test out with a new fanfic story based on Percy Jackson series. It is called **The Last Messenger**. If you're into the series, check it out and give me a polite opinion.

Also, don't expect a lot of updates. I got a whole lot of school work so it will take a while for me to get everything sorted.

Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	12. Striaton Trios

**Disclaimed: Well, I'm pretty sure I don't own Pokémon.**

Hi guys! Finally, another update. It's been a while.

Well, for those who forgot, we left off with deciding that Alex can never get a girlfriend. LOL.

I'm going to try and pick up the pace with the story since I realize we haven't really gotten anywhere.

Thanks **SinCityAssassin42** for betaing this chapter.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 10:**

_Seven years ago…_

Alex walked to the park to meet up with his two best friends when he saw something he didn't like; Bianca was on the ground with a scrape knee and a jump rope next to her. She was bawling with tears while Cheren tried to calm her down and trying to get a bandage out of his pocket.

"Big Brains!" Alex called out to Cheren.

"Alex," Cheren waved over, recognizing his voice. "Come help me get her back to her house."

"What happened?" Alex asked, rushing over. Bianca continued to cry despite his arrival, not even able to get a word out.

"Bianca and her dad got into a huge fight and he said that he'll let her travel around the world if she can do 100 jumps while jumping rope," Cheren explained, "But she couldn't get past ten and fell down. I wanted to get help but I was afraid to leave her…"

"Oh I see. Well, don't cry Bianca. It's just a small scratch," Alex said grinning. "Just try again later!"

"But I'm no good," Bianca sputtered as she tried to wipe away her tears. "I just keep failing. Now Daddy won't let me go out and I'm going to be stuck at home forever."

"But you have always kept trying! Don't give up now! You only need to jump… umm… uhhhh…"

"90 more times," Cheren answered as Alex tried to count with his fingers before he realized that he didn't have enough fingers to count.

"Yeah, 90! That's not too hard if you keep it up."

"Yes, I agree with Alex," Cheren interjected, "Practice makes perfect. That's what I've been saying to her the entire time."

"No!" Bianca screamed, "I'm… I'm tired of doing all of this by myself! I'm never going to be able to do it!" With that Bianca continued to bawl. She refused to get up and Alex and Cheren looked at each other, desperately unsure on what to do.

"I'll go get her mom," Cheren said, getting up. "Can you wait here with her?" Alex nodded and watched him run towards the neighborhood. Alex sat down next to Bianca as she continued crying. He didn't do anything or say anything, just waited patiently until Bianca's cries turned into small hiccups.

"Come on Bianca," Alex said calmly, "let's go home."

"Go away!" Bianca pouted. "I want to be left alone!"

"I'm not going to leave you here! We're friends. We're not going to just leave you!" Alex exclaimed. "We'll stick together forever." Bianca just buried her head into her knees.

"No we won't," she muttered into herself.

"Of course we will," Alex said defiantly.

"Yeah right! You and Cheren are both going on your Pokémon adventure when you get old enough. And I can't because Daddy is forcing me to stay home! In the end, you're all going to leave…" Bianca couldn't finish her sentence. She didn't need to.

This was the real reason why Bianca was crying. It wasn't the fact that she couldn't go traveling; it was because she felt Alex and Cheren were going to leave her behind. Alex frowned as he realized the dilemma. He got up and paced across the playground, contemplating his choices while Bianca continued to cry to herself.

"Okay then," Alex decided suddenly, "we'll all go on our journey together!"

"Huh?" Bianca asked. She had been alarmed by Alex's outburst and stopped crying.

"You, me, Cheren, we'll all start our journey at the same time!" Alex explained, jumping up and down at the thought. "That way, none of us gets left behind."

"But what about daddy?"

"Your dad doesn't need to know," Alex grinned, a bit mischievously. "But if it makes you feel better, we'll just… tell him right before we leave. Then he can't do anything about it." The blonde giggled for a moment at the thought, but she was still a bit doubtful.

"But, but… I've never been out that far before."

"Well, neither have I, but that's not stopping me."

"And I don't know how to battle like you do."

"Don't worry; it's like learning how to jump rope, it's just a lot of practice. Of course, you don't jump when you're in one, unless you totally won, then you can jump all you want!"

"Huh?" Bianca didn't really understand the point he was making.

"Look, I'll help you. With battling, that is."

"Really?"

"Really." Alex said with such confidence that it gave Bianca hope.

"You promise?" Bianca asked, holding up her pinkie. "Pinkie promise?" Alex bent down so that both of their faces were only inches apart and immediately extended his own pinkie. The two locked their pinkies as a sign a friendship.

"Pinkie promise. And when you're ready to battle by yourself, I'll be there cheering for you!" Alex sounded serious now. "With me around, there is no way you'll lose."

…

_Present day…_

After the cool night, the sun's blazing hot rays and gusts of hot wind would dry up the tongues of those who traveled on the dirt trail of Route 2 between Accumula Town and Striaton City. The trail was simple; a straight and mundane pathway severely lacking in anything of interest to the enterprising traveller.

It was here that a tanned, teenage girl sat on the ground, her gadgets and Poke items laid out on a large blanket. Next to her, a crudely written sign: Mai's Marketplace – Unova's Traveling Mart – For Quick Buys and Desperate Hitchhikers! Any questions? Just ask the beautiful saleswoman – Mai!

Her black t-shirt bared the logo and catchphrase for her business in a brightly colored bubble. Her hands were stuffed in her hiking shorts as she was squinted up at the blue sky, not a customer in sight.

"This ain't a good deal, it's a gyp!" the trainer yelled angrily.

Not a _good_ customer in sight.

He was pointing at one of the CDs on the blanket. "I could just walk into the city and get them at a ridiculously expensive price and it'd still be close to what you're askin! I demand a lower price." The trainer didn't look all that older than the girl across from him, but he still acted like a loud, annoying brat like any preschoolers Mai came across.

"Look, man. I have to make a living," the girl objected in a slightly annoyed tone. "And it is cheaper for your information. I'll have you know that this IS a Thunder TM. Those things cost months' worth of salaries to begin with. Deal with it."

"What ever happened to the 'customer is always right'?"

"You can't be a customer unless you buy something from me, now can you. Right now, you're just an annoying little Aipom." The trainer glared angrily back at her.

"This thing isn't even worth buying now," the trainer crossed his arms across his chest, trying to look stern. "Either you lower the price, or I'm leaving."

The girl was unfazed by this and simply played with her messy ponytail in response. Her olive green eyes glazed over to imply complete and utter disinterest on her part. Finally, after a long staring contest, she gave a sigh of defeat. "All right, all right. Tell you what; I can give you a kiddie discount."

"Wait, what?" The young trainer was thrown completely off.

"A kiddie discount," the female shopkeeper repeated nonchalantly, "You know, for little baby kids. Like you."

"But I'm not a kid!" The trainer's face was redder than before.

"Is that right?" The teenage girl raised one eyebrow in disbelief, put her hand to her chin and appraised the boy's appearance, "How old are you? Nine? Ten?"

"I'm fourteen!" the guy sounded, slightly angry, he looked hurt at the remark.

"Well, I'm sixteen, so you're younger than me. That makes you a kid. I mean the reason I have kiddie discounts is because kids usually can't pay the _Adult_ price." The nonchalant girl made air quotes when saying the word 'adult'. "You probably haven't gotten this week's allowance yet, so I'll be nice." That did it.

"I'm not a kid! And I don't need your stupid kiddie discount! I can pay the full price!" The guy slapped the cash onto the blanket and roughly grabbed the merchandise before storming off. "So take that!" The girl didn't respond nor touch the money until the trainer was a good distance away.

"Okay then," Mai grinned mischievously as she coolly counted the money, "Pleasure doing business with you." She then cackled with amazement. It was so easy to prey on idiot loudmouths like those trainers. They all think they were hot stuff because they travelled a few hours outside the city.

Clearly they never met someone like Mai.

Even so, taunting a lone customer was always risky; he could easily just walk away. If there were more people around, he'd have to buy something anyhow to save face after that humiliating taunting. Still, it paid off though; she managed to make a nice profit. Carefully, Mai placed the money into her wallet, tightly secured to her bag, confident in their safety.

And then a bunch of yelling startled her.

"My name is Alex Black! And I'm going to become the Pokémon Champion! I will definitely, definitely, _definitely _beat them all! The gym leaders, the Elite Four, and the Champion! So just you wait! Cause you're looking at the next Pokémon Champion of Unova! I promise!"

_Now who in blue blazing would yell something that outlandish?_

Mai looked up and saw two trainers standing a little bit further away. One of them had jet-black hair and dressed formally. His blue eyes seemed to pierce through his glasses.

_Well doesn't he seem like the type with book smarts_, she thought. She also noted that he looked embarrassed at his friend next to him, who was screaming out to who knew where. That guy had some brown hair kept in line with a hat; he seemed lean, fit and apparently had good lungs to be able to holler that loud.

_Hmm, either an athletic trainer… or a male cheerleader…_ Still, she knew these two were rookie trainers; the fact that they didn't look like they were carrying many items and seemed rather young. They probably need a lot of things for their journey right now, if they know they wanted to get far. Which means – Mai was grinning now – they'll be a piece of cake.

…

"Can we go now?" Cheren asked his friend. "We need to get to the next town fast," Even if Cheren was the one who encouraged it, he still felt embarrassed whenever Alex shouted like that. No doubt he was going to do it again by the time they reach to the next town.

"Yeah sure, Cheren," Alex turned and followed his friend. Cheren noticed that Alex was attempting to look happy, despite what happened last night. Even so, Cheren could tell by looking at in his friend's eyes that he was still uncomfortable about the whole situation. Guess yelling that out isn't doing him much good.

As though to keep himself busy, Alex was looking at his Pokedex, reading the data that it had recorded on the several Pokémon that the mysterious, green hair guy had. For whatever reason, Cheren had no idea. But for once in a long time, Cheren saw the same look in Alex's eyes whenever he was serious about something. And he almost looked like his old self again.

"So, anything at all?" Cheren asked, hopeful for more information out of Alex about the mysterious man who attacked him. Alex didn't respond, despite the fact Cheren knew he had heard.

"Say," Alex said, attempting to change the topic, "any idea how we're supposed to find Bianca?"

After what happened last night, Cheren was surprised that Alex even remembered their main objective. Immediately, he took out his map that showed the entire Unova and attached to it were smaller maps that showed individual cities in the region. "Not sure. But I know Bianca doesn't have much battling skills, so I think she is still at Straiton City. I highly doubt she'd win a badge that quickly. It won't be that hard to track her down."

"The last town wasn't even huge and it took forever to search," Alex pointed out at the picture of city. "Striaton City is even bigger; I don't think we can search the entire place."

"Not we," Cheren corrected. Alex looked confused.

"You mean I should say, I don't think us can search the entire place'?"

"No, I don't mean in the grammati-….ugh…ok. I mean, _I'm_ going to search for Bianca. You need to go see Professor Juniper's friend, remember?" Alex remembered, but he still felt somewhat uneasy at the thought.

"But Bianca is my friend too." This statement made Alex uncomfortable, like he was saying something he didn't really believe. He isn't lying, but still… even he truly was Cheren's and Bianca's friends, he still didn't feel like it or ever remember it, and that made him even guiltier. The photograph of the three of them when they were young was still buried inside of his bag, a constant reminder of his… disability.

"Don't worry about Bianca," Cheren insisted, seeing Alex's expression, "Focus on getting your memories back. Leave Bianca to me, I can handle it." However, before Alex could open his mouth to refute…

"Hallooooo over there!" Cheren and Alex turned at the sound and noticed an older girl with a ponytail waving at them. In front of her were numerous of items neatly placed on a blanket. "Well, don't just stand there like a Deerling in the headlights! Come over here!" Curious, the two went over to see what was up.

"Welcome to Mai's Marketplace (M.M. for short). How may I be of service?" The girl flashed a brilliant smile before bowing.

"But you called us over here," Alex said bluntly.

"Oh come off it, I'm trying to be a good proprietor here," she had on a black t-shirt with a logo in the front with a winter jacket over her shoulders despite the hot warm weather. Her hiking shorts reached to her thighs and she had comfortable, bright pink traveling boots that went up to her knees.

What really stood out were the bulging pouches attached to her belt and the large blue backpack on the ground. They seemed to be ready to burst with so many items inside. Cheren could tell that this business was a full time job for this girl.

"Your name is Mai?" Cheren asked. Alex was busy ogling at the many types of merchandise before him.

"Duh." Mai grinned, "Who else could I be?" She pointed to her sign next to her.

"Oh yes, of course," Cheren turn his head down in slight embarrassment when he finally noticed the sign.

"So what can I help you boys with? I've got all kinds of interesting things for trainers like you two – Potions for your Pokémon. Or perhaps some Poke balls to catch more of them. I have some good city maps here as well. Hey, if you guys are willing to spend a little bit more, I got a Fire Stone I'm willing to…"

"Do you have any items that can help us track down a girl?" Alex asked as he crouched down to look at the items more closely.

"Huh?" Mai raised an eyebrow with disbelief. After a brief silence, she said, "Look, you two look sweet, but if you're a stalker or something, I'm gonna have to call the cops." She put her hands on her hips, a slight frown etched on her face.

"NO! No no no! No. That's not what he meant," Cheren said, looking several times more embarrassed than before. Alex looked up, confused. Cheren gave Alex a sharp look that said – 'Let me do the talking!' and Alex decided to shut his mouth for the time being.

"Ummm, ahem. Mai," Cheren said, "I was wondering, how long have you been selling stuff here?"

"Here as in Unova or as in at this spot I'm standing on?"

"This spot."

"Weird question to ask, but okay, I'll bite," Mai said, still frowning. "I've been here for three days – 24/7. But, I'm going to head out pretty soon, so this might be your last chance to buy what you see here. Oh, and I have a Taser, so don't try anything you might regret."

"Obviously not! I was just wondering, have you come across a girl with a green beret and in an orange vest?"

"Girl with a green beret?"

"Her name is Bianca," Alex explained. "She is a friend of ours who is going to be in big trouble if we don't find her." Mai still looked at them suspiciously for a moment, but relaxed after deciding these two looked harmless.

"Okay, girl with green beret… she sounds like she'd be easy to spot huh? Hmm…wait."

"Hmm?"

"Was she blonde? Looked like the type who was prone to tripping over herself?"

"Yes!" Cheren exclaimed, "That's her! So you saw her?"

"Yeah, yesterday," Mai continued animatedly now. "She had a really adorable little baby Tepig with her. She really wanted one of my cute luck charms to help her and I even gave her a discount. I'm such a sucker when it comes to cute Pokémon. Ahhhhhh so cute the little squishy thing!" Mai gave a squeal as though imagining the cute Pokémon in her arms. Alex raised an eyebrow at Cheren, who mouthed 'It's a girl thing' before turning back to Mai.

"Did she say where she was going?"

"Huh? Oh, ummm," Mai slowly pointed down the road. "She told me she wanted to head to the gym first thing today. I guess she bought that charm to help her win; she looked pretty dang adorable when she smiled with that little bucktooth of hers."

_No doubt about it_, Cheren thought. _Bianca definitely came through here._

"Did she say where she was staying?"

"Nothing I ever heard," Mai shrugged her shoulders. "But the gym leaders there usually don't battle unless you schedule an appointment so I can't say if she's already battled or not."

_Huh?_ Alex perked up at this information. _Did she say gym 'leaders'?_

"Well, thank you for the information," Cheren said, "I appreciate your help."

"No problem," Mai grinned, "But you do realize that my information comes with a price?"

"What?"

"I don't just give information for free," Mai explained as she took out a small red notebook to write on, "I think that amount of hefty recounting adds up to… about this much."

"WH-WHAT IS THIS NOW?!" Cheren sputtered in shock as he saw the price. The way she scribbled it down looked like she made up the number on the spot.

"Is that a lot of money?" Alex asked.

"That's like three meals!" Cheren exclaimed.

"Well, six if you only eat fast foods," Mai grinned. Alex's mouth gaped open in horror. Now that he thought about it, did he bring any cash with him?

"But we don't have that kind of money!" Cheren objected as though reading Alex's thoughts. "Besides, you never told us this earlier."

"It's called marketing strategy."

"No it's not! It's call exploiting!"

"So, what are your names?"

"I'm Cheren and this is Alex." Cheren said automatically without thinking.

"Fine," Mai opened up her notebook again and jolted something else down.

"Umm, what are you doing?" Alex looked at her as she continued with her scribbling.

"I've red-listed you two," Mai said, snapping the book shut before putting it away from prying eyes. Cheren gulped. Mai's evil grin was not a good sign. Curse his courtesy streak.

"And what does that mean?" Alex asked, not understanding nor taking the hints of the evil smile.

"It means that you guys are indebted to me," the traveling salesgirl chuckling, "Next time we meet, I expect a payment, or else."

"Or else what?" Alex still looked clueless. The mischievous glint in Mai's smile seemed to be amplified.

"Just use your imagination, my little friend. I don't treat my debtors too kindly. Eheh. Eheheheheh... MUHAHAHAHA!" Mai's evil chuckle turned into an evil and loud laugh. Cheren stared wide-eyed in horror and grabbed Alex, who just narrowed his eyes in befuddled confusion at her, by the neck and dragged him away from the maniac shopkeeper.

"Remember! I'll be watching you!"

The two trainers didn't stop running until they could see her behind them. Only then, did Cheren stop to catch his breath.

"Um, Cheren?" Alex began, "What that girl said-?"

"Trust me," Cheren gasped out grimly, before Alex could continue, "That's a girl thing. Definitely a girl thing. Only a girl can get away with saying something like that."

…

_Striaton City…_

The city, though slanted as one of the more industrial cities, was famous among tourists for its affinity for fine dining and elite relaxing spots. If one wanted to find them one often see people in leisurely, but expensive clothing walking around the market streets, going into bakeries or spas with little interruption. Alex guessed there was lot of interest in gardening around this part of the city, ad several of the large white houses had flora growing from the balconies, green vines that lazily slither around the outsides, and small gardens blooming with many varieties of plants.

Alex's Oshawott was scurrying around his trainer, eagerly curious about everything he saw in his path.

"Whoa there!" Alex managed to grab Oshawott before he collided into a flower stand. "Stop running around like that. You're going to get hurt, little buddy." Oshawott pouted and squirm in Alex's grasp like a little child.

"Well, I'm not surprised. It's probably excited seeing such a new area like this." Cheren said. "You should put it back into his Poke ball if you're worried about losing him."

"Well, I thought, you know, it'd be nice to have Oshawott out walking a bit…" Alex looked around as though distracted by something.

"Something wrong?" Cheren asked.

"This place… It feels familiar…"

"Really? You remember?"

"Remember?"

"We stop by here a lot before when we were little. We went to the Skyarrow Bridge using this route."

Alex pondered but slowly shook his head. "No… it feels familiar in a different way…"

"Oshawott!" The little blue otter jumped out of Alex's hands and ran off. In a blink of an eye, he ran down the pedestrian road and past the many quaint shops.

"Ah! Come back!" Alex exclaimed again. Cheren groaned and took out his own Poke ball.

"Snivy. Get it back here." The little snake Pokémon elegantly used its Vine Whip attack and grabbed the Oshawott before it strayed off even further. Oshawott was lifted high into the air so that its little arms and legs couldn't do anything. The little otter cried out angrily and shook its tiny fist at the green snake Pokémon. Snivy merely tsked and looked at him disdainfully. That just made Oshawott even more furious and it blasted a Water Gun attack straight at Snivy. The now-wet Pokémon lost its cool and slammed Oshawott to the ground before using its vines to hit Oshawott's head.

"Whoa, stop," Alex said, grabbing hold of Oshawott. Cheren grabbed Snivy as well. "Don't do that or else I'm seriously going to have to keep you in the ball." The Pokémon pouted but didn't squirm like last time. Instead, he glared at the unhappy Snivy. "Sorry about that Snivy," Alex apologized to the Pokémon.

However Snivy merely gave a sour look at Alex as though asking, "Why are you apologizing? It's that stupid Pokémon you're holding who should be saying sorry."

"Hey," Cheren said suddenly, "Is that…?" Alex followed his eyes to where Cheren was looking and saw that he was looking at a rather large Doric order style of café. It gave the sense of grandness and royalty. Alex could smell pastries and tea and coffee aroma that blended together seamlessly and made his mouth water.

Outside the café was a girl sitting in one of the French bistro chairs. A green beret, her distinctive feature, laid on the glass-top table next a half-empty plate; it matched up perfectly with the aesthetic of French style café.

"Bianca!"

Bianca turned around and her face immediately lit up. "HEYYYY! You guys finally arrived!" She hurried over to where Cheren and Alex were standing, but in the process tripped and fell flat on the ground. "Owwwww..."

"You okay?" Cheren asked, quickly rushing by her side.

"Of course. You know me," Bianca grinned, "I'm just clumsy. Oh! Come on over here! I want you to meet a new friend of mine!" Bianca dragged the two over to her table. Little Tepig was munching on a bowl of food, but squealed with excitement when it saw Oshawott and Snivy. That is, until it realized that the two were not really in the mood to talk.

"This is my new friend Mark," Bianca introduced. "He came from Cinnabar to travel around Unova. Did you know that Cinnabar is a volcanic island in… uh… Kanto?"

Mark looked rather short for his apparent age with a distinct, lightjagged scar running across his neck, leaving a lighter trace of skin. Mark seemed extremely conscious about the scar because he instantly covered it with his hand. He became rather timid and quiet, a fair contrast to the girl introducing him. Nevertheless, he stood up and gave a smile at the two trainers, pausing before he could speak up.

"H-hi," Mark sputtered out. His voice cracked as if his throat was dry and parched.

"Nice to meet you," Cheren said rather formally. Alex gave a grin and shook Mark's hand.

"I met Mark when I was getting ready to challenge the gym leader," Bianca continued to explain, not really giving a chance for Mark to do the introduction himself. "Of course, the gym was closed but Mark here was willing to give some tips. Actually, I was about to go when you guys showed up!"

"Wait, where is this gym?" Cheren looked around and didn't see a single sign indicating the location.

"Right here." Bianca pointed to the large café behind her.

"The gym is in this restaurant?!" That was the last thing Cheren had expected.

"Yeah, cool isn't it?!"

"You're a trainer?" Alex asked Mark.

"Sort of… well… umm," Mark fell silent again. Alex looked puzzled at Mark's shyness, but Cheren had other things on his mind besides small talk.

"Uh sorry to interrupt but Bianca, could I talk with you in private?" Cheren grabbed Bianca before she could respond and dragged her several feet away from the bewildered Mark. "What are you doing?"

"Cheren," Bianca frowned, "I made a new friend. The least you could do is not act so rude in front of him."

"_That's not what I'm talking about_," Cheren hissed. Bianca pouted, seeing where this was going. "You ran away! Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in?!"

"But this is what we had been planning to do all this time. We were going to go on our Pokémon journey together. And now, here we all are. The three of us. Three."

"But we also promised that we would tell your father properly before we left, or at least attempt to work things out like civilized people. Last time I checked, you two had a shouting match in the hospital and then you disappeared. And let's not forget that you just swiped a Pokémon from _the_ Professor Juniper."

"What's the big deal?"

"Aside from the fact that Professor Juniper could feed you to a tank of Krokorok? The big deal is that I don't want you to have a falling out with your own father."

Bianca blinked in surprise at Cheren's concern about Bianca's family relationship.

"Oh," Cheren paused for a moment, remembering something. He took out something from his bag and handed it to Bianca. "Here. You forgot this." Bianca realized that it was her Pokedex.

"Thanks," Bianca muttered and put it into her bag.

"Look, I know that your father is overprotective, but still… He is your father." Bianca pouted. Cheren was right of course, but she wasn't going to admit it. She turned around to look at Alex, wondering if he had input his own thoughts on the matter.

"So, you want to be a scientist?"

"Yes," Mark said, not elaborating much.

"Any idea what kind of scientist?"

"I really love researching the mysteries of this region. Try to solve things from different angles, you know."

"That's pretty good, I guess. Are you here for some sort of amazing mystery here?"

"Actually…" Mark paused, looking slightly embarrassed now. "I came here because this restaurant has really good desserts."

"Really? They got like a fancy cake here or something?"

"More like small but sweet French desserts," Mark seemed eager to talk now. "The food is pricey but the flan and soufflé are totally worth it. Oh and don't get me started on the fruit tarts."

It was amazing. Despite the lack of memory, Alex was calmly conversing to a stranger with ease; it was his normal enthusiastic expression that reminded her of the normal him. Then she recollected something that she had wanted to give to Alex.

"Alex!" Bianca interrupted the two trainers. Alex looked up surprised, and this time it was Bianca dragging Alex away from bewildered Mark, but also away from exasperated Cheren. In the meanwhile, Bianca's Tepig was fighting with Oshawott, who was trying to steal some of its food; Snivy was moderating.

"Bianca!" Cheren hissed, irritated that Bianca decided to ignore him.

"In a minute," Bianca retorted back, rolling her eyes in annoyance. When they were a good distance away, Bianca let go of Alex's arm.

"Is something wrong?" Alex asked, confused and concerned. He saw Bianca silently rummaged through her green satchel, grumbling at her own messiness. He was curious now.

"Aha! Found it! Here, this is for you," Alex looked at her hand to see she was holding a small Togekiss keychain.

"It's a good luck charm," Bianca explained, "Maybe it'll help bring your memories back to you sometime," Bianca explained shyly, quietly rubbing her hands.

"Don't you need this?" Alex asked confusingly, lifting the chain high into the light for further inspection. The craftsmanship was excellent; it didn't seem like it was any cheap trinket. "I mean you bought this for your battle today right?"

"Well umm, I did, but then… My real good luck charm came to me," Bianca said, looking down at her feet.

"Huh?" Alex looked confused. "You bought another one?"

"No! I mean…look, if you stay and watch me battle, I will have all the luck I will need," Bianca said softly now.

"Oh," Alex said, not really understanding Bianca's explanation, but if that's what helps… "Well okay then. I'll be there if that's what you need." Alex smiled and placed it into his pocket. "Thanks for the gift; I'll keep it on me at all times."

"Great!" Bianca smiled and jumped with joy. "I'm so glad."

"**HOLD IT!**" Cheren barged into the conversation, absolutely livid. "First off Bianca, you're not supposed to be battling. You have to go back home and settle things with your father! And second, Alex has important business to attend to with Professor Juniper's friend. You can't just take him away from his objectives whenever you want!"

"No! He needs to watch me battle first!" Bianca exclaimed, pulling Alex by the arm again but this time to drag him into the café. "And for the record, you're not the boss of us!"

"Bianca!" Cheren said exasperatedly as he chased after the two. "Sorry Mark," he added to the bewildered teenager, "My friends are always like that. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Suddenly, a jet of water struck Cheren's head; Alex's Oshawott had fired and missed a Water Gun attack meant to target Tepig, who was trying to tackle Snivy.

"_**Will you three please stop fighting?!**_"

…

"Bianca," Alex said, "Wait, I think Cheren has a point, you need to… Whoa…" Alex fell silent when he saw the interior of the restaurant/gym.

Red carpet covered the center floor; grand chandeliers hung from every part of the ceiling, sparkling up the entire place. Round tables covered with elegant, white tablecloth were arranged neatly to the sides. It was a bit past lunch hour, but the tables were still mostly full of patrons, even small families.

"Amazing isn't it?" Bianca giggled at Alex's gaping face. "I couldn't believe it when someone told me that the gym leaders were also in charge of this restaurant. Anyways, where are those guys…?" Right on cue, three figures pop up in front of then.

They looked like butlers, black and white attire and white aprons tied around their waist. One had green hair with bangs that sprouted up like grass. His eyes conveyed thoughtfulness and relaxing thoughts.

The middle one was redheaded, his hair that spiked up in a way that made it look like fire. His eyes were bursting with excitement and fierce determination.

The last one had blue hair, with a bang went down and covered his left eye. He expressed a combination of calmness with a sparkle of delight.

"Welcome," the blue hair waiter said while bowing low, "to our humble little café."

"Don't be shy and come sit down," the red hair waiter said, pushing the two into seats around a table before they could say anything.

"How may we take your orders?" The green hair waiter asked as he whipped out menus and stood them on the table "I am Cilan and they are Chili and Cress " – the red hair and blue hair waiter bowed – "We three will be here to serve the loveliest meal you'll ever have."

"Actually," Bianca said peeking over her menu. "I am here for the gym battle." The three waiters' eyebrows shot up with surprise but then the green hair one immediately recovered and smiled.

"Of course, I should have recognized that from the moment you walked in, mademoiselle. You have the fiery passion of a trainer." Bianca giggled at the formality and the compliment.

"Does this young man wish to challenge us as well?"

Alex was still flabbergasted at the exquisite experience . He didn't really know how to respond and was saved by the sudden burst of noise from the entrance.

"You two!" Cheren looked extremely irritated now as he dragged Snivy, Oshawott, and Tepig. "You should not forget about your Pokémon."

"Ah, I'm so sorry! I was caught up in the rush! Come here Tepig," Bianca immediately scooped up the little orange pig and started to stroke it. "Aww, how did you get so dirty?"

"Please tell me that that is a rhetorical question," Cheren groaned as Alex took his Pokémon.

"Ah, these are your Pokémon correct," Cress asked, his blue eyes filled with curiosity and amusement. "Grass, water, and fire… Three starters, three types, three trainers… What are the chances?"

"Ha, seems like a mere coincidence if you ask me," Chili said, grinning widely.

"Or it could be fate," Cilan added with flair as he gestured his hand to add emotional impact to his words. "Maybe destiny is calling to us right now." The three trainers merely looked at each other with confusion.

_HUH?_

"Ah, but moving on. You three wish to challenge for the gym badge?"

"Well, that would be novel," Cheren said, "but right no-"

"We would love to challenge you each separately. But as you can see, we are busy and we usually do not have the time to accept challenges every day. We would usually have a sign-up sheet where trainers would come and sign up. And unfortunately, we are booked starting tomorrow."

"Wait, we?"

"Oh you don't know?"

"Know what?" Cheren and Bianca looked puzzled right now.

"We three," Cilan made a grand gesture to the other two waiters and himself, "are not only brothers, waiters, and overall excellent, but we are also the gym leaders of Striaton City."

"Wait, you three?" Bianca gasped; she had clearly forgotten that Mark had mentioned this to her before. But then again, she was more focused on what Mark was teaching her about how to battle, not whom she was battling against.

"So Striaton City consists of three gym leaders who are also brothers," Alex immediately spoke up, "Cilan, Chili, and Cress. Each battle with different types of Pokémon – grass, fire, and water. As the first gym leaders of the Pokémon League Tournament, it is their objective to teach beginning trainers the meaning of basic effectiveness and weaknesses of different types and attacks. Winning the Tri Badge is the gym leaders' acknowledgement of the skill and their entrance into the league."

"My, my," Cilan said, impressed. "Someone has been doing their homework. I see that you are a studious learner." Alex immediately fell quiet and looked slightly embarrassed.

"But yes," Cilian continued, turning to the other two trainers, "We are the gym leaders, but we are also waiters for this fine restaurant. It takes all three of us to run it efficiently. Still, our customers and the trainers get frustrated by our schedules; we cannot open every day and we can't take battles without reservation."

"So we have to wait in line to battle?" Bianca wailed. This wasn't part of the plan. She couldn't just hang around here until she had her turn. Her father was hot on her trail and it wouldn't take long to find her if she just waited around.

"Bianca," Cheren said gently, "We can't do anything about it. Maybe it is for the best."

"Surely you can make an exception," Alex interrupted. There was silence as the three brothers glanced at each other. There seemed to be a secret smile passed between the trios.

"Hmm," Chili spoke up, "maybe there is something we can do."

"There is?" Bianca perked up. Even Cheren looked surprised.

"We can squeeze time so that each of us can battle," Chili said. "There is no harm in breaking the rules."

"I prefer to call it… an exception," Cilian interjected.

"That's great!"

"Unfortunately," Cress interrupted Bianca's happiness. "We have only one battlefield for this gym and though we are making time for you three, we do not have time to wait and battle each of you individually."

"Then are you expecting us to choose amongst ourselves who gets the opportunity to battle?" Alex asked. "As much as I appreciate you three giving up your time to battle, I don't think that is fair for us."

"Of course not," Cilan said, "Which is why we will all battle of the same time."

"S-same time?" Cheren repeated, not believe his ears. "Is that possible?"

"Well of course. Like Alex said, we specialize in teaching trainers basic battle skills and what better way than to teach all three of you the art of Triple Battle?"

**Author's Notes**

OMG, OMG! My first official Triple battle! Epicness coming! :D

Okay, done acting hyper… Whew! That was a lot of writing.

Oh as for the two OCs, Mai is **Starran's** OC. And Mark is **N the puppet's** OC. Thanks you guys. They were such fun characters!

Important news! I noticed that stories can now have a 'cover page' where you can have a picture. But since I want to see some fan arts at the same time, I was wondering if anybody is interested in drawing something for BW story. (And my art is not really that great to begin with…)

Chapters are still sporadic (same deal as always) but know that they will come unless I announce otherwise.

So, as some of you may know, the next generation of Pokémon is coming out (X and Y). What are your thoughts about it?

That's it from me. I'll see you in the next chapter! :D

**-JapanDreamer**


	13. Liberation of Pokemon

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon**

Hey everybody! Another chapter of BW!

I know a lot of you are looking forward to the triple battle, but there is a slight change in plan. So, here is how it is. I sort of forgot about Team Plasma and was planning to write it with the Triple battle but then I realized that it felt really strange (in terms of order) to put this with the gym battle. Plus, the Triple Battle lost its appeal in my opinion if something like Team Plasma was inserted into the chapter. Thus, I decided to make it into two chapters instead of one. The Triple Battle, which I am still working on, will be in the next chapter.

This chapter is a bit short because of that, but the next chapter is extremely long and so that should make it up.

Thanks **SinCityAssassin**for betaing.

Now enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 11:**

_Many years ago…_

N could hear the thundering footsteps as he ran down the tunnels of the underground passageway, though to him it was more like a complex maze. His lower body was wet from constantly running in the ankle-high water and had to endure the intense burning sensation coming from his legs. At this rate, the only way he could get them off his trail was to hide.

At the first sight of a large pipe opening, N lunged towards it and pressed his body hard against the inner wall, hoping the lights won't reveal his shadow. His lungs desperately cried for oxygen as he stubbornly held his breath, listening in on the noise, which grew louder and closer. His heart was pounding when the footsteps stopped near the pipe; he saw a large cluster of shadows stumble in confusion.

"Damn it, where did that kid disappear to?!"

"Could've sworn he went this way!"

"Guys! I think I see footmarks over here! Come on!"

The footsteps hastily headed in the opposite direction and in a few minutes, the tunnel was dead quiet save for the rushing water from the other pipes. The area was dimly lit a soft blue, reflected from the clean water.

"N, are you there?" The headset came to life and spoke into his ears loud and clear. "Come in! Please!"

"I'm, I'm here!" N was out of breath. He had never been on so much adrenaline before, and the exhaustion was catching up to him. "What happened? Is everybody okay?"

"I don-! H-hold on!" The line went silent until a deep, stern voice greeted him.

"N, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm fine. I got separated from the others and then -!"

"N, the mission did not go as planned, they've found out."

"I-I'm sorry! I know I told you that I was ready. I didn't know the schematics were so hard… I just-! I just needed more time… more time…" N knew he was just spouting excuses, but he couldn't help it. He was trying to push away the guilt that was eating the very core of his body.

"I understand. It was not your fault." There was no anger in the man's voice; it was calm, controlled. None of this made N feel any better, in fact only made N feel much worse.

"How can you say that? Of course it was my fault! I was responsible for this mission. I got so overconfident… and reckless…and…and…" N took deep breaths to calm down as he rested a hand against the stone walls. When his heart rate finally slowed down to normal, he continued down the tunnel, but in a more haggard state, swaying to and fro, as reality hit him.

"Please… just tell me that everybody made it out okay. Everybody is still alive right?" There was a long, terrifying silence before the man spoke up again.

"I'm sorry," the man's voice boomed inside N's head. "But there were casualties."

"Who?" N asked in a whisper as he gripped onto the headset.

"N," the voice sounded reluctant, "Perhaps it is best if we-."

"TELL ME! TELL ME WHO!" The words echoed in the tunnel and for a split second N was afraid that he managed to attract the attention of his pursuers. Another long silence before it was broken.

"Darmanitan and Woobat did not make it."

"N-No…" N fell to his knees and could feel the cold water soaking his pants. "NOOOO!" The man on the other end had tried to say something, but N couldn't hear it; he was choking out an anguished sob, he crossed his arms around his chest, hoping to dull the pain. He looked at the stream that flowed past him and wondered if it was possible he could drown in such shallow water.

This pain… It was too much. He wanted to beg someone to make it stop.

N immediately found himself surrounded by darkness – the same darkness that beckon him more and more often as the years passed by.

N saw something on the opposite side of his darkness, a bright light emitted by a young child. Unafraid of the darkness surrounding him, the child was giggling and smiling while playing with spheres of white light that surrounded him. Slowly, these lights were taking shape. One grew wings, another grew four legs, and one got larger and more rotund. Invisible to the child's eyes, N slowly walked toward this dream-like scene. He could feel the pain dull as he felt he felt his mind drift into unconsciousness. Now, he was within reaching distance and stretched out his hand to grab the child's attention. But then the child vanished into white smoke, leaving only the sound of laughter behind.

And then finally, the pain stopped.

…

_Accumula Town_…_Present Time_

The afternoon fashion show party was in full swing, despite the hot weather. Hilda didn't really spend too much time hanging out with other people, her injured leg forced her to sit near the refreshment station while watching others dancing or gossiping. There was a lot of shade from the umbrellas so Hilda didn't mind too much. For today, she wore a casual V-neck summer dress so that she could feel comfortable enough wear comfortable sandals instead of classy high heels.

"Hilda! There you are. How is your leg?" Hilda turned around to see Mr. Tobbin, the editor from _Hot Random! _magazine, coming toward her.

"H-hi, Mr. Tobbin," Hilda still felt flustered being around such a handsome man. The last time they saw each other, Alex was carrying her back all the way to the tent after that photo shoot. Hilda remembered Mr. Tobbin giving a nod of respect, slightly amused by Alex's chivalry.

"Please, call me Charles." The man smiled and gave a hearty handshake. He took a quick glance around before continuing, "So, where is your knight in shining armor?"

"Huh?"

"Alex," Mr. Tobbin raised an eyebrow in slight suspicion, "You know, your charming boyfriend."

"Oh him!" Hilda blushed in embarrassment. "He… had to go. He is a Pokémon trainer and you know… has to travel and stuff..." Hilda mumbled in the end and started to wish that she could disappear.

"I see," Mr. Tobbin said and then continued, "Well, I just want to let you know that your spring picture came out beautifully. I would love to see more of your works in the future."

"Th-thanks." Hilda kept her eyes down to the ground. She couldn't believe it. Mr. Tobbin was personally praising her.

" Ben would like me to pass you this message. There is a commercial job in Castelia City in a week or so. You should try it out."

"Really?" Hilda's eyes sparkled with excitement. And there was another job waiting for her! It looked like Ben really was trying to make up for yesterday's mishap.

"Oh and he said to make sure to thank your boyfriend," Mr. Tobbin added kindly, "He is such a polite gentlemen." He gave a small wink; a subtle hint that he knew who Alex really was in relationship with Hilda, causing the girl to blush even more.

"O-of course I will."

"Hilda! Do you want any of this shrimp-? Oh hey there," Sharon, who was carrying two large plates that were filled with food from the buffet, stopped on a dime when she saw Hilda talking to Tobbin. "Hi, Mr. Tobbin, nice to meet you again." There was a moment of awkward silence as he took a good look at Sharon as though trying to recall the last time he saw her.

"Sharon, right?" The actress looked pleased that Mr. Tobbin remembered her name and nodded with pleasure. "I remember your photo shoot. Very classy in my opinion."

"Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you remember. I would shake your hand, but I have my hands full at the moment." Mr. Tobbin laughed and nodded in understanding.

"Please, call me Charles," the man insisted.

"All right then, Charles," Sharon grinned, moving through the transition easily. Hilda noticed that her friend was still acting civil though she still have a bit of her rugged accent. "Any news about the winner for the photo shoots?"

"I'm afraid not," Mr. Tobbin said, a hint of mischief in his voice. "But you'll find out in the next issue. Make sure you buy a copy before it's sold out."

"Oh, such a killjoy. I bet the ladies love it when you tease," Sharon laughed and paused for a moment before adding, "Can I get ya anything from that buffet?" Mr. Tobbin opened his mouth as though to say 'yes' when there was a sudden chirping. Mr. Tobbin automatically reached for his pocket.

"Sorry ladies," Mr. Tobbin said as he picked up his cellphone. He looked at the message and sighed. "It looks like I have to be going now. But it was nice talking to you two."

"Sure, talk to ya later." With that Mr. Tobbin quickly left and disappeared into the large crowd of gossip and chatting.

"Well, that's not a good place to have a phone call now is it," Sharon said as she bit into a shrimp tail, "He's pretty nice though, and rather handsome for a guy his age. Man, I wish Terrance could've met him, but the idiot had to go somewhere else."

"Yeah…sure," Hilda noticed that some of the girls would point rather openly in her direction and whisper about her. Some even gave her dirty looks.

_"You see that girl?"_

_"She's the one who the editor from the magazine wouldn't stop gushing about."_

_"What was so great about her? Her boyfriend was such a scrawny looking idiot."_

_"Well, he was kind of cute."_

_"And he carried her! Like a princess! I heard everybody started to do that after they saw them!"_

_"And the director thought it was rather creative."_

_"Oh please, as if. I bet she had some private exercises with the editor if you know what I mean." _

Hilda's face turned burning red; she remembered Ben telling her to act with grace when receiving backlash from others, but this was way too much for her. Before she could figure out what to say though…

"Hey, turnip heads!" Sharon slammed her plates onto the table and called out to these girls. "You got something to say, say it to our face!" The girls that were near them had immediately scattered. Sharon was probably one of the few people in the area that even the models didn't want to mess with. But then again, it was an Orre stereotype to be crass and violent, standard for a place ravaged with crime, no one wanted any trouble with that.

"Bunch of idiots," Sharon said, acting moody. "Don't let it bother you Hilda."

"I think it bothers you more than it does for me." But Hilda was still grateful that Sharon stood up for her.

"I'm just glad Lurvina ain't here. Good thing she had to leave for that stupid book-signing thing. How many people could be interested in reading her biography?"

"Sharon!"

"Aw maaaan." Sharon tried to escape from her manager but it was too late.

"What are you doing?! No one puts that much food on a single plate, you have to watch your calorie intake!" The manager tried to take the food from Sharon's grasp, but the girl had a strong grip.

"Let go! And everyone here would if there's steak on the table." Sharon tried to grab a bite, but it was difficult to eat while playing tug-of-war.

"Don't eat steak! The sauce will ruin your clothes."

"Oh for crying out loud, I'm not wearing a dress." Sharon looked down at her tank top and her knee-length jeans as though expecting them to magically change. The manager finally gave up and allowed his actress to keep her food. Sharon, pleased with her victory, almost brought her plate inches from her face and continued eating.

"And you met with Mr. Tobbins!" the manager continued to berate the tomboyish actress, "You should have brought him to me."

"Why?" Sharon asked with her mouth full. "It's not like you guys are good friends." The purple suited manager looked ready to pass out from weariness.

"Well, I'll go search for him again. And there is some sort of rally going on, so _please_ don't wander off. And no more eating after this!" With that the man was gone.

"A rally? Here?" Hilda was surprised. She never heard about a rally when she came here, and it sounded rather suspicious. On the other hand, Sharon was busily finishing her plate and didn't look up until she was done.

"Well, there is usually food in rallies right? Why don't we go check it out?"

…

_About thirty minutes later…_

"Who da funk are these people?" Those were the first words that came out of Sharon's mouth after she saw the scene.

It was curious, a rally this abruptly being held in such a small town. Of course, when they came upon the scene, they were pretty shocked… in a fashion sense.

Every person on stage wore an identical, yet absurdly strange uniform. In Hilda's opinion, they looked like they just got done reenacting a bad theater play. Each one of them wore white tunics, blue gauntlets and boots, how much they contrast with everyone else made the whole scene a bit jarring.

"Those are the stupidest outfits I've ever seen," Sharon continued loudly, not thinking before she spoke, "And as someone in the fashion industry, I've seen stupid outfits."

"Sharonnnn," Hilda cringed, noticing the glares they caught from some of the audience members, but Sharon paid no mind.

"Ugh, don't tell me, it's one of them activist rallies that try to get the crowd going with pointless propaganda and stupid leaflets." As if on cue, one of the people in uniform came up in front of them to hand out flyers.

"Hi there," the woman said with flustered excitement and determination, "Please stay and listen to our leader's presentation, which will begin in a few moments. For any questions on our cause or membership, please talk with us at the booth off the side of the stage." And with that, the woman continued on through the area.

"Yo, I got a one question," Sharon mumbled to herself, slightly crumpling up the flyer, "Where the heck's the food?"

On the other hand, Hilda took a look at the paper and portrait of various Pokémon happily jumping through a field of flowers presented itself on almost the entire flyer. Near the top was a coat of arms – one side was white and the other was black – with an electric blue colored 'P' in the center. At the very top was bolded, blue letters – TEAM PLASMA PROMOTES THE LIBERATION OF POKÉMON!

"Team Plasma… what do you think they mean by 'liberation'?"

The actress frowned as she continued to inspect the piece of paper with care that listed the goals of this so-call Team Plasma. "Oi, it sounds like those pamphlets that used to litter people's houses back in Orre." Sharon wasn't the only one who sounded skeptical and annoyed. There were plenty of people here who, though curious, thought that the presentation was ridiculous and laughable as they whispered and pointed.

There was a sudden squeak and reverb from the amplifiers. Looking up, the two girls noticed all of the 'knights' getting to their positions, standing tall towards the crowd. Some of them were carrying flags to signal the arrival of a man who slowly walked onto the on stage, standing behind a podium.

He was pretty old, at least in Hilda's opinion. His long wavy hair went down just past his shoulders and was colored a washed out green. On his shoulders was an elaborately designed, brown crown-like structure. It looked like it held up the two-toned cloak he wore; Separated in shades of yellow and purple, two eye patterns covered the entire front, accompanied with a vein like design. The red eyepiece he wore over his right eye glinted in the sun as he looked over the crowd that gathered.

"Alright, I know when I'm wrong. Let me take back what I said. _That_ is the stupidest getup I've ever seen." Sharon wasn't the only one who thought of that. There were quite a few people in the crowd winced at the sight of this man's appearance.

"Greetings, citizens!" The man announced, ignoring the looks from the crowd. "I am Ghetis! I am the here to represent the organization of Team Plasma. As for my purpose, I am here to talk about Pokémon liberation!" His booming, yet stoic voice immediately silenced most of the audience, even Sharon quieted down.

"I am sure," Ghetis continued, now that he had the crowd's attention, "that many of you are under the assumption that humans and Pokémon can live together peacefully, because we want and need each other. You may believe that your bonds with your Pokémon are neither harmful nor unjust, however…" This time, Ghetis sounded serious and his voice grew louder.

"Can this really be true, or is it just an illusion you weave, to mask your own hypocrisy?"

"Huh?" There were several worried looks of confusion, murmurs and gasps spread through the crowd. Sharon raised her eyebrows, but in suspicion rather than confusion.

"Pokémon are enslaved, they are enslaved by those who wish to train them for battle and by those who felt the need to keep them as 'companions'," Ghetis continued. "They are at the mercy of the selfishness of those who control them. Tell me, how many of you command your Pokémon, every day, to do a task without even considering how your Pokémon felt? How many of you order your Pokémon like servants? Have you ever considered the harm you've been doing, to bend these creatures to your own will? How many of you ever thought of putting the feelings of your Pokémon above your own?"

Individuals in the crowd had a guilty look on their face, as if they had been given a self-realization. Hilda, on the other hand, frowned at his words. They sounded… a bit too familiar.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are not yours to command. They are living beings like you and I, unperverted by the greed and selfishness of humanity that holds us; we can learn from them. I will ask you just one question: What is our responsibility to these wonderful creatures?"

Before the crowd could respond in anyway, Ghetis answered to his own question, outstretching his hands and made a pose as the flags behind him were lifted into the wind.

"We should liberate them; we must free the Pokémon from the chains of oppression we have held them to! We must not make them slaves to our whims. Only when humans and Pokémon break away the hideous restraints of ownership can we be considered equal. I am asking you to do what is right for all Pokémon – the correct way to proceed. I hope you all know what I mean."

The man lowered his arms and looked over the crowd once more; they were stunned. With what looked like satisfaction, he slowly stepped off the stage, the knights slowly following him one by one with their flags upright and sailing in the breeze. They all marched away from the stage area, leaving even the booth behind. It was as if they were never there to begin with, but they left an impression of sorts.

"Liberate our Pokémon?"

"Is this the right thing to do?"

"What are you talking about? They're just crazy."

"But our Pokémon. How could I have never thought about their feelings?"

"Can you believe this load of junk? Let's go."

There were mixed feelings stirring in the crowd. Some had thought Team Plasma were just a bunch of blowhards who wanted to spread a nonsense agenda and quickly left the stage area, going back to their usual routine. Others were more concerned and confused, not knowing what to think.

"D'you hear all that? All that build up and all I got to hear was the single most stupidest thing I ever heard." Sharon scoffed at the scene. "I'll admit though, it ain't half as stupid as Venus's love channel back in Orre.

"Still, I would understand if they were against some company or whatev, but they're acting like everybody's a bad guy. Well… back in Orre, I guess that's sorta true, but still… But, that's not how most people act towards their Pokémon. I should know." Though even with the criticism, Sharon was uneasy, deep down. She saw the looks of some of the people around her; they looked like they actually believed the spiel the old man had. Could people be so easily swayed? Surely they understood their Pokémon better than that old coot.

"Come on Hilda, let's get out of here… Hilda?" Sharon turned around when she noticed her friend wasn't following her and looked really confused and… frightened?

"Yo, Hilda," Sharon sounded stun now. "Don't tell me you're getting' sucked into that stupid mumbo jumbo."

"N-no," Hilda said, shaking her head, "It's just that…" She glanced at her injured leg as though trying hard to bring back the memory that has been hiding from her – the memory that could piece all of this together.

"What?" Sharon followed her gaze towards her leg, "is it about that guy from yesterday? Don't worry about it; the cops are on his tail. Personally I would've liked to take him out myself."

Then it hit Hilda. "That's it!"

"Huh? What's it?"

"That guy! He said the same thing that old man was talking about on stage?" It took a while for Sharon to understand what Hilda was trying to say.

"What?" Sharon's eyes bulged in shock. "You mean the guy who tried to kill ya and that Alex was part of…!" She didn't finish her sentence; she didn't need to. The same thought was on both their minds.

_Could the mysterious attacker be with Team Plasma?_

_**Author's Notes**_

Well, Ghetis sure knows how to make a very interesting speech. Any debaters in the crowd?

And how about that news of the new form of Mewtwo in that new Pokémon movie coming out? Anybody excited?

Moving on, I'm still busy with school as it is wrapping up with finals and such. Updates are sparse and in between. As soon as I'm done, I'll start updating a bit faster.

Remember. If you would like to contribute art to go with this story, let me know.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviews. I'll see you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	14. Triple Teamwork

**Disclaimer: Omg, I still don't own Pokémon.**

FINALLY! I don't know how long ago I promised this chapter but here it is! My first and probably my last Triple Battle ever. Trying to put in six Pokémon into one battle can drive a writer insane. Lol. If you haven't noticed yet, this chapter is really long. Way longer than it should've been if you ask me. I collapsed trying to meet this deadline.

And why did I have a deadline? Well… you could say that today is officially my b-day. :D

Yup, that's right. I've officially gotten one year older. Can't say I have gotten wiser or a better writer but hey, life is pretty good so far and I'm truly grateful. So I thought that updating at least one story is a great way to start off the next year of my life.

So here is a list of birthday wishes in case you're curious,

At least one review per reader

A cake (Note: Saying in your review that you have given me a cyber-cake is also acceptable)

And a smile when you read this chapter or any of my other stories for that matter. (Note: Laughing is also an acceptable alternative.)

So enjoy the chapter and get that checklist ready. I'll see you in my **Author's Notes**!

Thanks **SinCityAssassin **for betaing this story.

**Chapter 12:**

_Striaton City_

Mark had arrived inside café just in time to hear what had been proposed, the looks of pure shock he saw from the challengers were almost priceless.

"Triple Battle?!" Cheren's jaw dropped. This was something he had never heard of in a gym battle. He had understood from his research that certain gym leaders had allowed double battles for badge matches, but he's never heard of them using the triple battle system.

"A TRIPLE BATTLE?!" Bianca echoed, though shocked, "A TRIPLE BATTLE…! Wait, what's a Triple Battle?" She turned to Cheren and Alex and the climatic atmosphere was immediately doused.

"Really, Bianca?" Cheren couldn't help but groan. "This was all in the manual I gave you before the journey. Didn't you read it?" Behind him, the gym leaders were trying very hard to not laugh or giggle.

"That was ages ago. And you know I don't like reading instructions, especially with your flowery words. It's boring."

"I gave you a book with pictures and diagrams. How boring could it have been to understand?"

"I liked it better when you were actually there to teach me directly," Bianca grumbled to herself. "You're a better teacher than that book… even if you do use a lot of big words I don't understand."

"Triple Battles are a three-on-three Pokémon match," Alex interrupted almost mechanically; his eyes began to glaze over a bit as he continued. "In essence, they are not unlike Double Battles, but because of the different team dynamics and combatant placements in battle, a Pokémon's Ability as well as its range of attacks may be restricted in an immediate area."

"Wuhhhh?" Bianca still looked confused. "Ability?" Cheren sighed. He knew she was smart, despite how she acted; it's unfortunately because she never studied up on Pokémon battling that almost every term was jargon to her.

"If you'll permit me to elaborate what your friend has said," Cress, the blue-haired waiter, butted in, "The point of this battle is the three of us versus the three of you. It's a team battle."

"We will each send out one Pokémon," green-haired Cilan added, "And the first team to beat all three of the other team's Pokémon will be the winner."

"It's a test of teamwork!" Chili added passionately. "An epic battle for the win!"

"Working as a team is difficult, but it is also very rewarding."

_All…all right then,_ Cheren thought, these brothers were a bit more… enthusiastic of the idea than they were. But Bianca seemed to comprehend what they were proposing and was already raring to go.

"Oh! That sounds exciting! Doesn't it Alex?"

"Yeah it does," Alex said, nodding in agreement. "Seems like the right idea to, now we can all battle."

"Yippee! So it's decided!" Bianca said, enjoyed and hopping a bit on her feet.

"Wait! Hold on," Cheren said suddenly, realizing he got sidetracked, "Alex we can't do this!"

"We can't?"

"You need to go see the professor's friend. It's important! Besides Bianca can handle the battle by her-."

"Wait, you can't do that! We've already had this decided and all!"

"Bianca, it is better if you just have a one-on-one battle. I mean, think about it. None of us has experience in Triple Battle and you don't even have experience battling with just one Pokémon."

"But you can't just do this! The gym leaders have given us an exception. For all of us!"

"Well yeah but-!"

"Besides, if we don't battle now, you'll have to wait months for your next battle! I know you wouldn't want that to happen."

"Come on, man. Don't tell me the real reason is because you're scared." Cheren, red in the face now, looked back at Alex teasing him. If there was anything the guy excelled at better than Cheren, it was battling. It was enough of a talent that made him justified enough to taunt him, and Alex knew it, or he didn't know he knew it. The taunt had actually come out so instantaneously that Alex was shocked he said it at all… but to Cheren, even if he was annoyed, was a bit relieved in the inside; it was classic Alex behavior.

"W-what? Don't be ridiculous! I'm not scared!"

"How about this?" Bianca said in desperation, "If we lose, I'll immediately go back home."

"What?" Cheren was baffled now. Promising to go home? That was new; it was unexpected and also too good to be true. Through their entire childhood together, only Alex could get Bianca to go back after she had a huge fight with her father.

"But if we win," Bianca continued, "Then it shows how dedicated I am to this traveling and battling stuff and I get to continue my journey."

"That's not a negotiation," Cheren said exasperatedly.

"If I may, Cheren," Cilan said, "The fine lady seems to be in distress. Don't tell me that you're going to ignore her request. It's just not what a fine, upstanding trainer would do."

Cheren bit his lips, wondering how in the world he was going to counter that argument without looking bad. Not to mention Bianca was giving him the puppy dog eyes. His shocked and stern facial expression began to slowly falter.

"Thank you Cheren. You're the best," Bianca said sweetly, knowing that she was going to have her way. If there was one thing Bianca was better at than Cheren, it was her puppy dog eyes. Cheren groaned inwardly and made a mental note to list all of the comebacks he should make in case something like this happens again.

"Oh! Hello Mark," Bianca noticed the reserved trainer silently hanging by the indoor pillars, "What are you doing back there?"

"Ah, another challenger?" Cress sounded concern now. "I'm sorry, but our schedule is already filled at this time. I'm afraid you will have to sign up."

"Well, even if it against four, we could take them all down with no problem."

"Quiet, Chili," Cilan sighed, "There is no need to start bragging. It would only lead to trouble in the end."

"Oh n-n-no, don't min-mind me," Mark replied automatically. "I'm only here for the food." Well, that sounded rather gluttonous. Mark could feel the heat creeping up his neck as he tried to mumble a better excuse. The three gym leaders couldn't help but smile.

"Well, in that case, I can escort you to a table if you wish," Cress said graciously.

"Oh, well, I was hoping I could watch them battle," Mark mumbled so softly that everybody almost missed what he said.

"I'm sorry, but all customers must stay here," Chili informed politely. "Rules are that only challengers are only allowed in the gym arena. We can't risk customers getting injured now."

Mark nodded, he couldn't object the rules, but he still looked rather crescent fallen.

"We shall get the area set up and notify the restaurant. We shall come back to escort you three later." The three gym leaders immediately vanished behind the restaurant curtains.

"Okay, we need to come up with a strategy," Cheren said immediately, feeling that there was an inadequate amount of time to prepare, "What Pokémon are you two going to use? We need to know what are the most – Bianca!"

"In a minute!" Bianca hurried off to speak to Mark. "Sorry Mark," she said quickly to her friend. "I know you wanted to come watch."

"It's okay. I kind of figured it would be like this. I'm sorry that I couldn't teach you anything about the Triple Battle," Mark apologized. "To tell you the truth, I don't know much about it either."

"It's okay. If things get bad, Alex and Cheren will help. But thank you. If I hadn't met you, I would've been completely clueless when it came to battling in general."

"Just remember," Mark said seriously now, "There is the basic elemental triangle in this gym when it comes to attacks – water, fire, and grass. Do you recall the weaknesses of each one?"

"Pssh, please, I can do that in my sleep," Bianca said brightly and brimming with confidence and excitement. "I'll be totally fine. I may not look like it, but I can pick up things quickly. Oh! I just realized that this is going to be my first Pokémon battle! How exciting!" Mark looked uncertain and was rightly so. An inexperienced trainer like her shouldn't be challenging gym leaders this early. Maybe he should've done some practice rounds with her first instead of a lecture…

"W-well, just make sure that if you're in a pinch to use your items. They should help you survive the battle in case your Pokémon gets roughed up too much."

"Items? What items?" The Bianca's blank face made Mark panic, but Cilan came back before Mark could say another word.

"All right," Cilan said, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "Shall we get started?"

…

"Welcome," Chili and Cress said in unison as they simultaneously opened the thick polished Victorian doors leading to the gym room. The doors were very impressive, though Alex was a bit exasperated by the 3 or 4 silk curtain pulls that preceded it.

"WOW!" Bianca exclaimed with excitement as she saw the gym. "This is amazing!" Her voice echoed across the entire room. Like gentlemen, the three gym leaders graciously bowed and ushered the three trainers into a rather spacious arena. There was a long red carpet roll leading to the flat rectangular gym floor that was littered with rocks. A referee in a tux similar to the gym leaders' was already waiting at the center.

"This is the best gym ever!" Bianca gushed and complimented so much that the three gym leaders were very pleased and rather pink in the face. "Well, it's the only gym I ever seen but still, this is the best one! I'm so excited. I can't believe this! I need a camera."

"Your friend is rather enthusiastic," Cilan remarked as Bianca continued looking around the stage.

"Well, that's how she is," Cheren muttered. He made a quick glance at Alex who merely looked up observantly at the ceiling. A different reaction than he had imagined. The Alex he knew would be acting exactly like Bianca right now, though it'd be more for the battle and less for the interior design. Suddenly though, Cheren caught a "blink-and-you-miss-it" twitch in Alex's hand and a spark in his eyes and realized that he was actually itching for a battle. This was going to be his first official gym battle and even the loss of his memory wasn't enough to stop Alex's excitement.

"You three stand on that side," Chili said, pointing to the opposite end of the field. "My brothers and I will be on the opposite side." By the time they got into their positions. Cheren looked rather nervously at the other end where the three gym leaders stood. He fingered the bridge of his glasses as he tried to calm his nerves. Bianca, for the first time, was acting a bit sheepish and started to bite her fingernails. Alex looked the calmest of the group, staring back at the gym leaders almost intensely.

"All right then, time to call out our Pokémon," Cress continued as he took out his Poke ball. His brothers copied as well. "Go Panpour!"

"Pansage," Cilan announced gracefully, "Time to shine onstage!"

"Time to fire up the oven! Pansear!"

Three bursts of lights appeared onto the field, a branched stream of green, red and blue, three Pokémon came out in the shape of…

"Oh they're so adorable!" Bianca exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"Well, uh, sure," Cheren coughed in embarrassment, "Bianca, those are Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour. They are grass, fire, and water type respectively."

"Awww, they're too cute for words!" Bianca didn't listen to a word he said as she watched the Pokémon do little backflips; they were itching to battle.

"Bianca," Cheren said firmly, "now is not the time. Get ready, because we have only one opportunity to win this."

"No need to remind me," Bianca said, already taking out her Poke ball, "I'm ready to go! Come on out Tepig!" Lobbing the Poke ball into the air, a flash of light appeared on the stage to reveal little red pig Pokémon. It sneezed in nervousness, spewing out puffs of black smoke.

"Snivy!" Cheren sent out the elegant green snake Pokémon. It gazed across the field at its opponents with a thoughtful look.

"Oshawott!" The blue Oshawott was jumping up and down with enthusiasm and confidence.

"Ah, I figure they would use those Pokémon," Cilan muttered. "This is going to be a good fight." His brothers nodded in agreement.

"This," the referee announced, explaining the rules one more time, "is a Triple Battle – a three-on-three battle. Each trainer will only use one Pokémon. First team to faint all of the other team's Pokémon is the winner. If you challengers can defeat the leaders of the gym, you will win the Trio Badge. Do you both understand?" Both sides nodded in understanding.

"Well then," the referee announced, "Let the battle _begin_!"

"I'll start things off," Cress said first, "Panpour, Water Gun!"

_Wait, what do we do?_ Cheren was unsure how to work as a team against the more experience gym leaders. Should they try combing attacks or something? While Cheren was overthinking, Alex took command rather quickly.

"Oshawott, cancel it out with your own Water Gun!" Oshawatt let in a huge breath is it spewed a rapid jet of water and the two attacks collided violently, negating any damages they would've done.

"Oh ho!" Chili grinned at Alex. "Aren't you a gutsy one? Don't get smug, never take our attacks lightly."

"Oshawott, close in on Pansear and use Water Gun again!" The little otter came barreling forward to ready another burst of water.

"Pansage, cover with Bullet Seed!" Alex had expected this and was already giving another command before Pansage could unleash its attack.

"Block it now!" Oshawott stopped and held out its scalchop. Oshawott curved its body inwardly towards its cover and managed to block most seeds with its scalchop shield, having them bounce harmlessly away.

"Nice one," Cilan said looking rather pleased with Alex's strategy. "You've obviously had experience in battling with more than one Pokémon."

"Don't leave me out of this. Snivy, use Vine Whip!"

"Oshawott, Water Gun again!" The two Pokémon unleashed their attacks in hopes of hitting all three Pokémon. However, the gym leaders were unfazed, as the attacks came forth all three yelled in unison,

"Dodge!"

Almost immediately, the three of the monkey Pokémon quickly leapt and rolled away with such dexterity and coordination. In the end, none of Cheren's or Alex's attacks managed to hit them as their opponents was artfully dodging and brushing off every jet of water and every whip of the vine.

"Sorry about that," Chili grinned at Cheren's and Alex's shocked face. "We were just testing how you folks would hold up a bit. Now that you've gotten an appetizer, let's get to the main course! Pansear, use Fury Swipes on the Oshawott!" The fire monkey boldly charged forward at a speed too fast for the Oshawott to react to and landed several flurries of scratches on it before it knocked the scalchop out of its hand.

"Panpour, use Lick!"" Panpour's slimy tongue immediately attacked Snivy and the snake Pokémon shivered in disgust.

"Pansage," Cilan said gracefully, "Use your Vine Whip now!"

_Whap!_ The attack was stronger than Sinvy's and had enough force to knock back both starters towards their trainers.

"Oh no!" Bianca squealed. Tepig looked confusingly at its trainer, waiting for an order. It was starting to wonder if it was supposed to watch the show or fight the Pokémon.

"Dang, they are good," Cheren said as his Snivy slowly got up. The look on its face spelled humiliated, and it was raring to have another go. "If this keeps up, we're not going to be able to land a hit."

"If that's the case," Alex said, "I'm closing the distance myself; Oshawott, Razor Shell!"

Oshawott picked up its little scalchop from the ground and held it high into the air. Concentrating really hard, it managed to produce a glowing blue gleam around its sharp end. Proud of its effort, the otter Pokémon charged forward weapon in hand, in front of both of his teammates.

"Go Oshawott!" Bianca cheered, treating the entire battle like a cheerleader rather than a battler. The encouragement had boosted Oshawott's ego, but then it failed notice the small rock in its path.

Oshawott tripped over its own legs and fell face first. It lost its grip on the scalchop as it slid a couple feet away from it.

"Oh dear," Cilan sighed. "I was expecting a bit more… pizazz with that attack. But I guess I'll have to take over. Pansage, Bullet Seed again!"

"Get up Oshawott!" Alex exclaimed desperately. But even if the Pokémon managed to get up, there was no way it could avoid the attack as well.

"Snivy! Vine Whip!" Snivy grabbed Oshawott's foot and dragged it across the floor and away from the barrage. The poor otter Pokémon yelped with pain as the ground scratched its face and shook an angry fist at Snivy, who only put its hand to its hip as though waiting for a thank-you.

"It's the clear Oshawott hasn't mastered that attack yet," Cheren felt the need to rub it in after Oshawott was out of harm's way. "Well, at least its shell didn't hit your face this time."

"Don't worry little buddy," Alex said, patting the crestfallen Pokémon. "You'll get it the next time."

"Wait, what about me you guys?" Bianca whined. "I want to fight. Go Tepig!" The little pig Pokémon merely stood there and looked back at its trainer with a very confused face. "What's the matter Tepig? You hungry?"

"You can't join a battle unless you give your Pokémon a command," Alex reminded the novice trainer. "Start off by giving a command; Mark must have taught you what Tepig's moves were."

"Okay…" Bianca gave a thoughtful look as she tried to remember, "So since Tepig is a fire type. That means, it can know attacks like… Ember!" There was a radiant look on her face when she made this discovery.

"Good," Cheren said, encouraging Bianca. "You're getting the idea of attack mov-."

"Tepig! Use Ember to take down the blue monkey!" Tepig jumped forward and gave a rather loud sneeze, causing a small burst of fire pellets fly straight at the rather startled Panpour. "YES! Take that!"

_Not very effective…_

Well, that wasn't the result Bianca was hoping for. Panpour was pelted by the attack, yes, but managed to brush off the attack. It retaliated by sending out a Water Gun directly at Tepig. The poor pig Pokémon squealed in pain at the super effective attack.

"Wahhhh! Tepig! Get up!" The little pig struggled but managed to get back on its feet.

"What are you doing?!" Alex demanded exasperatedly.

"What do you mean?" Bianca exclaimed. "I was trying to attack that blue monkey!"

"Panpour," Cheren said, needing to correct Bianca.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Panpour."

"Why?!" Alex asked now, disregarding the fact that Bianca didn't know the Pokémon's name.

Bianca gave a quizzical look at Alex's exasperated face. Bianca turned to Cheren, who also looked uncertain. "B-because my Tepig's Ember can burn all that water!" Cheren and Alex stared at Bianca as they tried to comprehend her reasoning.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Alex exclaimed finally. "What kind of logic is that?"

"Didn't you learn about attack effects from that Mark guy?" Cheren interrupted, "Fire attacks are _weak_ against water!" Immediately, tears sprang from Bianca's eyes, but she wasn't backing down.

"Well, remember that time when I was hungry and we tried to cook a pizza, but ended up setting the kitchen on fire?" Bianca protested. "That cup of water we tried to use to get rid of the flames didn't work! It turned it into steam!"

"A _cup_ of water, Bianca. The key word there was _cup_."

"Well, it didn't work. Right Alex?" Cheren and Bianca turned to Alex and noticed he was just standing there. It was like less of a cup and more of a bucket of cold water thrown in Bianca's face as she and Cheren realized how careless they were. They were too caught up in the argument to see that Alex still didn't remember.

"Oh…" Bianca turned red with embarrassment and guilt. "S-sorry Alex. I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay! It's okay," Alex said automatically, even if he didn't look okay at all. "You'll just have to tell me all about it after we win this battle. I mean… it's only a memory." He strained a smile for show, but it didn't seem to convince anyone.

"Hey you asleep over there? I was being nice in waiting for your next move, but gentlemen like us can wait for only so long!" Cillan called out from across the field, catching the three's attention.

"A-anyways," Cheren coughed, hoping to shift the conversation elsewhere. "Let's focus back on the battle."

"Okay, if fire is weak against water then I should attack the grass type. Tepig! Use Ember on that green monkey now!"

"Pansage!"

"Whatever!" Tepig charged forward more confidently and unleashed a swift barrage of fire, catching Cillan by surprise. The attack was unexpected enough that the Pansage didn't have time to dodge it and the green monkey Pokémon screeched in pain as the attack made contact. "Yes! That worked!"

"Good. Now let me show you how effective my Pokémon's attacks are against Panpour. Snivy, Vine Whip!"

"Wait, Wait, WAIT!" Alex suddenly yelled in panic. "Don't-!"

Snivy extended its vines across the field and aimed for the blue monkey Pokémon. However, its vines couldn't reach its enemy from the position it was in, leaving itself vulnerable as Pansear's began to glow white hot as it let out an Incinerate attack. The grass Pokémon shrieked out as the flames ate away its vines, the stray bands of fire also hit the other two Pokémon, though not as effectively.

"No!" Cheren gaped in shock and panic. "Snivy!"

"Dowse the vines with water!" Oshawott ejected a blast of water at Snivy, leaving it soaked but out of harm's way now.

"Hah," Chili beamed at his successful attack, "Looks like my attack worked like a charm."

"Well, that didn't go too well," Bianca remarked rather dryly.

"Wha-? But how?!"

"Oh dear," Chili sighed rather dramatically. "It looks like you don't know about the 'Placement' rule."

"Placement…"

"Rule?" Bianca looked dumbfounded at this new information.

"Look where your Snivy is positioned," Cress explained. Cheren saw that Snivy was on very right of the field while Panpour was on the opposite side. Cheren realized the implication. He had been so wrapped up in trying to teach Bianca that he forgot the Triple Battle rules.

"It seems like you understand," Cress said, noticing the look on the trainer's face. "You're smart when it comes to analyzing the strength and weaknesses in of an opponent; you're pretty by the book."

"If this was a one-on-one battle, he probably would've already won," Chili mentioned.

"However," Cress said sternly, "you lack the understanding of your surroundings and failing to use it to your advantage will be your team's downfall, especially if you guys don't start working together."

"Okay, will someone _please_ tell me what this placement thing is?" Bianca looked like she was about to have a fit. "I don't understand what is going on!"

"Think of it like this," Alex explained. "Our Pokémon are standing in a certain formation right now – one on the left, one on the right, and one front and center. Our opponents are the same deal. The Pokémon on the far right and left can only attack the Pokémon in front of them and the center Pokémon."

"O-Okay…" Bianca said, trying to imagine a bird's eye view of the situation in her head. It was difficult for her and Alex decided to simplify things by explaining the battle layout before them.

"Snivy couldn't hit Panpour with its attack because it was on the opposite side and vice versa. They're too far away from each other."

"So, in order for Snivy to attack Panpour, it would have to switch positions with Oshawott, the one closer to it on the field. We're going to have to learn how to strategize our attack patterns if we want to beat them," Cheren explained. He was feeling frustrated. None of them had Pokémon, let alone three, to be able to practice Triple Battles before. Although he had thought reading about Triple Battle would be enough to take care of this quickly.

"But wait!" Bianca interrupted as though she realized something. "Those guys can do the same thing right? And they're better at this than us." She remembered how the three monkey Pokémon were doing graceful acrobatics to avoid Oshawott's and Snivy's attacks.

"Well, they're gym leaders for a reason," Cheren sighed. "It's obvious that their teamwork is flawless." Cheren thought for sure they would be able to win easily at the first gym. He clearly underestimated these leaders.

"Don't just stand there dawdling!" Chili said, "You won't be able to get that gym badge at this rate. Pansear, Incinerate!"

"Panpour, Water Gun!"

"Pansage, Bullet Seed!" The barrage of attacks was too much for the three starter Pokémon and they were all squealing in pain. Oshawott tried to spray its own jets, but Pansage was way too nimble and managed to switch in Pansear's place. Desperately, the otter Pokémon attempted another Shell Blade attack, but Pansage had expected it and knocked the shell out of its hand again. Panpour smacked Tepig in the face so hard that it sneezed and smoke spewed out of its nose and though Snivy managed to connect a Vine Whip attack at Pansear, it was unhindered as it tackled back at the snake Pokémon, sending it flying back.

"Get back!" Alex ordered the three Pokémon. "We need to regroup." They didn't need to be told twice and quickly scampered back to the safety on their side of the field.

"This is impossible!" Bianca exclaimed as she watched the worn out Pokémon trying to catch their breath. "There is no way we can beat them." Cheren was playing with his glasses again.

What to do, what to do? None of the books Cheren had read provided any useful tips in this kind of dire situation. How in the world are they going to win?

"No it isn't," Alex said suddenly and his friends turned to stare at him. "I have a plan."

"Oh nooo," Cheren said automatically and shook his head. "Your plans always end up in more trouble than before."

"Really? I did?" Cheren once again realized that he had made another stupid comment.

"Well, they usually did. I mean… that pizza thing and the fire was _kind of_ your fault to begin with. You tend to think outlandish and crazy ideas."

"Well I'm in," Bianca said brightly without a worry, "What is it?"

Taking a huge breath, Alex explained and amazingly, Cheren's face turned even more incredulous than before.

"There is no way that is going to work. It would take a miracle… no, a double miracle."

"Um, hellooo? If you haven't noticed, we're not really in a position to rely on anything besides a miracle. And double miracles too."

"But there are too many variables to rely on!" Cheren exclaimed. "If we were experts in battling I would understand but the only one here with any experience is Alex and don't get me started on the whole amnesia thing. Do you actually believe something like this could work?"

"Do you trust me?" Alex asked quietly.

"Wha-?"

"It's true, I got amnesia. We've been lacking because we're not in our A-game. But the other reason why we haven't been doing so well is not just because of our technique, but we've doubted our teamwork and trust in each other's abilities. So I'm asking you again, do you trust me?" Cheren, stared back him a bit blankly, his logic yelling at him in the face.

_There is no way this method would work! The chances of winning are small._

"This thing," Alex said softly as though reading Cheren's mind, "about chances and all. As long as it's not at zero, we have a chance no matter what. Just need to have a little bit of faith." Cheren blinked for a moment and gazed into his friend's fiery eyes. The three of them were running out of time and Alex was grasping at straws here. But he sounded so determined… he was so confident that they would win… even against all these odds.

"So… do you trust me?" Cheren swallowed hard. He was going to hate himself after this.

"Yes," Cheren said finally, "I trust you." Cheren turned back to face the battlefield and added, "But! You better not mess up your part."

"Likewise," Alex grinned.

"They look about done," Cress said thoughtfully. "Do you think they're gonna try and coordinate this time?"

"Hah!" Chili grinned. "Only one way to find out!"

"Water Gun!" When Cress issued the attack, he thought for sure that it was over as his Panpour released a jet of water towards the left side. But then…

"Oshawott, counter it!" The Tepig that Panour had targeted had switched places with Alex's Oshawott who quickly negated the water attack.

"You'll need to do better than that. Pansage, Bullet Seed!"

"Tepig! Ember and follow that with a Tackle!" The pig Pokémon stopped the grass move and even managed to butt its head against Pansage.

"Vine Whip!" Snivy managed to knock Pansear and Panpour away and gave enough time for Tepig to escape.

"We're going to fight long range now," Alex said. "Oshawott, Water Gun!"

"Tepig, Ember!"

"Not a chance! Pansear, Incinerate!"

"Panpour, Water Gun!"

"Pansage, Bullet Seeds!"

The attacks collided and caused an incredible explosion. The blast was enough to blow all of the Pokémon away.

"Pansear! Panpour! Pansage!" Cilan was worried when he saw how much damage the explosion caused. The poor monkey Pokémon were battered by the blast and were all on the ground. Slowly though, they managed to get back up on their feet.

"Did we get them?" Chili asked as he coughed. The smoke cleared slightly and the three gym leaders saw Snivy and Tepig down on their last leg, looking even worse than Panpour, Pansage, and Pansear combined. In the background, they could see Cheren and Bianca looking completely exhausted yet dazed at their luck.

_But that luck well was about to run dry_, Chili thought.

"Looks like we're almost done here." Cress had spoken too soon.

"Come on Oshawott!" Alex ordered from behind the smoke. "It's now or never!"

"What? Where is that coming from?" Chili looked confused as he finally realized that their opponents were short on one Pokémon.

"Wait! LOOK UP!" Cress called out and pointed to the ceiling. The other two gym leaders turned the direction and saw Oshawott high up in the air. In the Pokémon's hand was a small shell that it removed from its stomach. The shell emitted a blue aura, which was more concentrated than its first attempt and had a sword-like shape.

"RAZOR SHELL!" At Alex's command, Oshawott dived down to the three elemental monkeys. And in a finale-like style, Oshawott swung its shell around, its aura trail hardening into a sort of energy blade, knocking all of the three Pokémon back. Pansear ultimately fainted before hitting the ground.

"No! My Pansear!" Chili freaked out. It was one thing for a head on attack and losing, but a surprised attack like this was too much for him.

"Don't worry," Cress said, trying to calm Chili down. Calmer brother of the three, Cress was trying to keep his head in the game. "Oshawott is almost finished. We can take him two on one."

"Don't you mean two on three?!" Cheren yelled. "Snivy! Vine Whip!"

"What?" Chili was shocked when he saw the little snake Pokémon jumped into the air. He was sure that Snivy was down for the count already. Snivy unleashed another Vine Whip attack and smacked it against Panpour. It slammed to the ground and Cress' mouth was agape when he saw the Pokémon also down for the count.

"We've been fooled!" The usually calm Cress was baffled. Cilan, on the other hand, merely stood there looking amused and looked up at Bianca. He noticed the items in her hand.

"I take it you had some Potions ready in that bag of yours."

"Yup," Bianca grinned, pleased that the plan worked, "Looks like I need to thank Mia for these." Bianca and Cheren had distracted the gym leaders, tricking them into thinking that all three Pokémon were down for the count. Alex took that chance to land an attack so outlandish at three gym leaders that it also gave Bianca time to share her kit of Potions with Cheren to heal their Pokémon unnoticed. It was a trick within a trick.

And now, she was the one who was going to finish this battle.

"Tepig, use Ember!"

"Don't take Pansage lightly just because you have the type advantage," Cilan said, sweeping his arms elegantly before him, "Bullet Seed with all you got." Stubborn and refusing to back down, Tepig continued to unleash its Ember attack. But Pansage wasn't backing down either. In fact, in terms of power, Pansage had the current advantage.

"Come on, brother!" Chili said. "We can win this!"

"We got this," Cress said encouraging, "Don't lose focus."

"I ran away from home to go on this journey!" Bianca said. "We are not going to lose already!"

Both Alex and Cheren were holding their breaths in anticipation. For a split second, Pansage stopped to take a breather and regain its energy. That slight break in force was enough for Tepig to take advantage of and it charged forward.

"Go Tepig!"

"_Piiiiigggg!_" The little pig, surging with confidence now, gave its most powerful blast of fire. The green monkey screeched in pain as it became engulfed in the fire before immediately fainting as it hit the ground. With all the gym leaders' Pokémon down for the count, the match ended and the buzzer sounded.

"Pansage is unable to battle, and the gym leaders have run out of pokémon. The match goes to challengers – Alex, Bianca, and Cheren!"

"YESSSSS!" Bianca pumped her fist into the air. Tepig jumped up and down and flew into Bianca's arms. She hugged her Pokémon tightly, squealing with delight.

"Oh… my gosh," Cheren buckled and fell on one knee. The adrenaline was out of his system and he was now taking huge huffs of relief. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack!" Cheren's Snivy slowly walked its way to him. It looked exhausted but had a pleased expression.

Alex collapsed next to him, in the same fashion, but it was less of a knee and more of his entire back on the floor. Cheren saw that Oshawott had jumped and landed on Alex's chest. Alex laughed and tickled his little Oshawott who giggled as it tried to avoid Alex's fingers.

"That was good, Alex. It was a rather… bold strategy."

"No, _we _did good," Alex grinned at his friend. He looked completely relieved as well.

"_Well_," Cheren had to correct, "We did _well_."

"Yeah, sure. We did well." There was a long pause before Alex added, "Thanks for trusting me." Alex held out his fist and Cheren, despite his training in etiquette and good manners couldn't help but fist-bump his friend's hand.

"Well, like you said, the probability of Oshawott to suddenly master Razor Shell was still there, I had to put some faith in that Pokémon. You put a lot of faith in Bianca too."

"Of course, out of all of us, she was the one who wanted to win the most. She deserved to be the one to finish it."

"Did you see me out there?!" Bianca said, coming toward the two guys and looking extremely pleased with herself, "I landed the final blow that won the battle!"

"Yes, we did. We were here, remember?" Cheren said before adding, "You're the heroine of this story."

"Looks like this charm does work after all," Alex said, showing Bianca the Togekiss charm she had given him earlier. "Luck is on our side today." Bianca turned bright red with embarrassment though she had a rather silly grin on her face. Never before had she gotten so many compliments coming at her at once.

"T-thanks you guys!" Bianca snared her two friends into a bear hug.

"Are you crying?" Cheren sputtered, turning red in the face though it definitely wasn't from the lack of oxygen. Alex looked mildly surprised at Bianca's gesture.

"I-I-I'm not!" Bianca blubbered as she tried to wipe away the tears. "I-I-I'm just so happy. This is the first time we won together… I can continue on with my journey with you guys and… We… We're a team." Bianca couldn't say anything else before she finally started to bawl right there on the ground.

"Aww, Bianca. Please don't cry. It's embarrassing. Please? Alex, help me here!" Cheren exasperatedly tried to calm down the girl while Alex just calmly let out smile. For the first time since the hospital, he felt… well, he didn't know exactly what it was, but it felt pretty good.

"Never seen trainers this happy about their first gym battle before, she's really letting out the waterworks." Chili commented.

"Oh my," Cilan smiled. The three gym leaders watched as Alex and Cheren continued to try and calm down the happy yet tearful Bianca. "I don't recall trainers acting like this… well, I don't know what to call this kind of celebration."

"But you have to admit," Cress shook his head in amazement, "they certainly have a beautiful friendship…"

"…It's sorta weird looking though," Chili finished the statement as he looked on at Cheren trying to pry the girl off of Alex now. Neither of his brothers tried to deny Chili's statement.

**Author's Notes**

Wow, like I said, pretty long. I think there should be one of those achievements for writing for more than sixteen pages.

How is everybody's summer going on? I hope everybody is doing well. To those who are taking summer exams and such, I wish the best of luck. You'll do great.

So, from here on out, I guess I give my thanks to those who have made these stories flourish to what they are today. Getting all semimetal for some strange reason. Lol.

Guess, I'll first thank Fanfiction. Without this site, I guess I wouldn't have thought of writing fanfics to begin with. And I probably wouldn't have realized how much I really love to write and how eye-opening experience it is to post for others to see.

Special thanks to my beta reader – **SinCityAssassin**. Working hard to meet this deadline and correcting my many (cough, cough) mistakes. It does help to have a second pair of eyes to see what I have missed and I'm truly grateful for everything.

And finally, I would also like to say thank you so much to all of my readers. Your reviews, favs, etc. do brighten up my days and knowing that you enjoy reading my stories has given me great pleasure. The journey is not over (not by a long shot) so I hope I will continue to see you guys to the very end.

**-JapanDreamer**


	15. Sense of Responsibility

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon**

Hey guys, another update! And it's a pretty long chapter as well.

Quick recap: Alex, Bianca, and Cheren won the Striaton gym battle and we're now finishing up with this arc. I hope to move at a faster pace with this story.

Thanks **SinCityAssassin** for betaing.

Enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 13:**

Standing between Alex and Bianca, Cheren waited nervously as he stared at the red carpet. The three Striaton brothers insisted on having a badge ceremony, promising that it'd be quick and simple. The three brothers had been praising the three of them, repeatedly expressing amazement at their skill and technique. It was a rather overwhelming experience to receive such comments, and the confetti throwing was a bit much although Bianca was clearly enjoying it.

Cheren looked over at his friends and could tell they were probably as anxious as he was, but in a different manner. Bianca looked like she was about ready to explode with excitement, jittering in place and trying very hard not to hop up and down. In contrast, Alex was breathing in and out slowly as he tried to calm himself down from all the sudden attention.

"Alex, Bianca, and Cheren," Cilian started in his eloquent voice, "Not too long ago you all started your Pokémon journey as friends. Many trainers before you have come to this gym to challenge us, and even less of them have managed to defeat us. Now, you three have become some of the few that will officially take the first step to entering the Pokémon League. We, the Striaton gym leaders, present to you this badge, which symbolizes the basic understanding of Pokémon types. And more importantly, you three have also shown the skill and finesse of mastering the Triple Battle. Though you'll experience obstacles in the future, we hope that our teachings and this battle will-."

"Cilan, get on with it," Chili groaned as he listened to the long soliloquy. "At this rate, we'll be standing here all night, just look at the poor kid." As if to prove his point, Bianca was starting to fall asleep where she was standing.

"Oh fine," Cilan sighed, stopping to everybody's relief. "Cress, finish it up."

"As the gym leaders of Striaton City," Cress said, facing the three trainers proudly. "We gladly present the Trio badge." Cress opened the small polished wooden box to reveal three bowtie-shaped badges lined up perfectly. They sparkled red, green, and blue under light of the glass chandelier hanging from above them.

The badge was small and light in Cheren's palm, but the weight of its importance was heavy. "Thank you so much," Cheren said, bowing respectively. Alex and Bianca hastily copied their friend and bowed as well.

"And with that concludes the ceremony," Cress said, clapping his hands together.

"Really, Chili," Cilan sighed in disdain at Chili for his rude interruption. "Do you not understand the importance of poetic speeches?"

"Not when I have to stand and listen."

"Honestly…" Cilian shook his head and disappointment at his brother.

"Come on guys, get together!" Bianca said grabbing her friends as soon as she got her badge. Before they could say anything… snap! Bianca had already taken a picture of Alex, Cheren, and herself from the plastic camera in her hand.

"Awesome! I can't believe I have officially become Pokémon gym challenger. Seven more badges and I'm off to the Pokémon League. And I definitely have to make sure I record everything. Hey Alex! Let me take a picture of just you for my scrapbook! Oh I'm so glad that I bought this thing from Mai! I should visit her store more often. I never knew traveling salesme- I mean woman could have such cheap stuff."

"Is there anything you haven't bought from Mai?" Cheren muttered while Bianca was trying to position Alex against the wall.

"Bianca," Alex muttered, trying to move away and conscious now which was strange because just yesterday, he was completely fine with getting his picture taken by a stranger. "There is no need for me. I don't need-."

"You have to!" Bianca insisted. "It is important for pictures because well… you can always look back at them and… remember… stuff…" Bianca didn't need to say anymore. Alex was so surprise that Bianca managed to quickly snap a shot before he could object. "Got it!" Bianca grinned again, revealing her buckteeth. "I'll get these developed as soon as possible."

"Bianca!" Cheren said, embarrassed by how his friends were acting like tourists in front of the gym leaders.

"What? Can't I have a little bit of fun?"

"That's not the point!"

"Sorry to interrupt," Cress said, coughing for their attention, "but we should get back to the restaurant. We need to get ready for the dinner service."

"D-dinner service?"

"Of course," Chili grimaced slightly and sighed. "Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, every meal will be a winner," he hummed lowly as he straightened the cuffs on his shirt.

"You guys work all day?" Alex didn't even try to mask his surprise.

"Of course. It's our jobs," Cilan said in a rather flourishing voice. "Tired businessmen after a long work day, families out for a nice get-together, couples on a romantic outing, no matter who comes through our doors, we strive to bring them good memories."

"Say, why don't you eat here?" Cress interjected, afraid that Cilan was going to go through another monologue. "You all can have a celebration for your first gym victory in the very gym you won in."

"Yes!" Bianca said, her eyes round with wonder and excitement. "I'm starving!" On cue, Alex's stomach started rumbling. Come to think of it, he and Cheren didn't really eat anything for lunch.

"Well, I am hungry," Cheren said slowly, not able to deny it, "I guess we can celebrate tonight. A light dinner wouldn't hurt."

"Excellent," Cilan grinned. "We three will set up a table for you immediately. Follow us." With that the three gym leaders left the hall quickly. As they ran towards the host bar, they immediately started to comb their hair and straighten their outfits while helping each other make sure none of their grooming missed anything.

"You know what I just realized?" Cheren wondered out loud.

"What?"

"Those brothers are really different from each other… yet somehow their teamwork is impeccable. I mean when you get right down to it, their Triple Battle techniques were way better than ours."

"You don't have to be the same in order to work together," Alex said thoughtfully. He shifted his bag to a more comfortable position on his shoulder. "Besides, they had a lot of more experience compare to us."

"Yeah, I figured. But they can also get along so we-" Cheren realized that Alex was the only one who followed him. "Wait, where is…?"

"I got my first badge. I got my first badge," Bianca sang as she twirled around the room with the badge high in the air. She had not listen nor notice the others as she continued to gloat to the entire room.

"Bianca!"

"Hee hee," Bianca turned and sheepishly grinned at Cheren's embarrassed, exasperate face. "Coming Cheren." As Bianca was coming over, Alex noticed that she was still clutching tightly onto the badge as though she might lose it. It was such a huge accomplishment for her, after all.

"So where do I put this?" Alex asked. He figured something as important as this needed to be put in a more secure place than his pockets.

"We'll buy a badge case. There should be one for sale somewhere in this town, in the meantime you should pin it on the inside of your clothes so you won't lose it."

"Oooo! In that case, we should visit Mai's Marketplace," Bianca interrupted, "I don't know if you guys passed by her store when you came here, but she has the nicest-"

"No! We are NOT going to that place. Ever. Again."

…

_An hour later…_

"Oh man, I can't believe I get to eat all of this." There was a sparkle in Bianca's eyes. Even Mark had an eager and hungry look on his face. He had actually waited for the three trainers to finish battling and was waiting rather anxiously for the news. When she saw him, Bianca jumped and hugged him while thanking him for the tips and help he had given her. She then insisted that the self-conscious trainer join them for dinner, not taking "no" for an answer.

Everything that was set on the table looked like things Mark could only dreamed of. The main courses and desserts looked so scrumptious, and the aroma enough to make anybody drool just by smelling it. Decorated neatly on fanciful plates, food perfectly presented under such an appropriate atmosphere, it was no wonder why this was a four-star restaurant.

"Here's to winning our first gym battle! And hopefully the next one!" Bianca grinned as she raised her glass for a toast. Everybody followed suit as well, with varying amounts of enthusiasm that didn't quite match hers.

"You realize this meal isn't free right?" Cheren mumbled, wondering how in the world they were going to be able to pay for the entire meal. He started wishing he didn't agree to eat here. Bianca didn't answer him and just started to gather everything to her side of the table while tasting everything she could.

"Bon appetite!" Before anybody could say another word, Bianca started to eat. Despite the fact she ate smaller portions at a time, she was going through each food quicker than one could normally swallow. Bianca was usually picky. But when there is something on the table she likes, she won't stop eating. On top of that, she was going through the battle second by second to Mark, not missing a single event and even adding dramatic flair to the story, all while not spilling a crumb.

"And we were lucky that Alex came up with this plan see," Bianca continued explaining as she continued shoving a mouthful of flan into her mouth. "Oshawott's Razor Shell move was AWESOME! It was whaaaa, pshhhh, and then fafoooooomm!" Bianca gestured with her fork as she made her own sound effects; it was rather comical, her antics drawing quite a few looks from other tables. Mark couldn't help but crack up laughing, but almost immediately covered his mouth, as if he was embarrassed.

"You laughed!" Bianca said, shining with a sense of accomplishment. Mark coughed and turned slightly red. "Well anyways, Oshawott managed to strike fear into our opponent's heart. And then…!"

"Something wrong, Alex?" Cheren asked, noticing that his friend was not joining in the conversation.

"Huh?"

"You've been quiet the entire time."

"Oh. No," Alex shook his head. "Just thinking." He didn't elaborate and hastily took a sip of his drink. Cheren decided not to push any further and continued eating. Although he didn't want to admit it, the food was delicious and it was hard not to eat seconds despite the ever-dreading thought of the bill.

Alex glanced down from the scene in front of him and started at the badge in his hand. He felt the weight of the badge and just sort of kept staring at it, as if he was expecting something amazing or magical to happen. Maybe a memory flash or a sense of accomplishment like Bianca and Cheren were feeling. But there was nothing. And that made Alex uncomfortable.

"I see you enjoyed the flan," Cress said, as he appeared to clear up the dirty plates. "Would you like some more lemonade?"

"Yes please," Bianca grinned. Cilan suddenly appeared with three pitchers of different kinds of drink and started refilling according to what they ordered. The drinks were filled enough not to spill out and Cilan was able to maneuver himself around the table without slipping a single drop. Cheren, very impressed, mused that these guys were truly professionals when it came to working their restaurant.

"Do you have a place to stay for the night?" Cilan asked conversationally.

"I'm staying at the Pokémon Center," Bianca said. She looked expectantly at her two childhood friends.

"Do we have a place to stay?" Alex asked Cheren in a slightly worried tone.

"No we don't. Actually, we didn't really have time to look for a place…"

"Well in that case, you can stay at the Pokémon Center as well! And then tomorrow, we're going to travel to the next gym!"

"We? Bianca, you need to call you dad first. Let him know you're okay."

"What? Cheren, you promised. If I got my gym badge, I don't need to talk to my dad."

"No, the deal was that you would be able to travel. We should at least give your dad a call."

"But since I didn't promise, I don't have to, right?"

"Bianca."

"You know how he is, Cheren! He wouldn't take me seriously unless I can prove to him I'm an expert trainer."

"That's not true. He's just worried about you."

"Oh please," Bianca scoffed. "He treats me like a baby, keeping me from everything fun and not letting me see the outside. I'm going to show him that I'm perfectly capable of being in the real world."

"Says the girl who thought fire could beat out water."

"Oh come on! It was a mistake anyone could make!" Alex couldn't help but smile softly at the exchange. It felt rather familiar to hear conversations like these.

"Pardon me," Cilan said, interrupting the discussion, "But if you would like some tips to become a better trainer, might I suggest taking a look at the Training School? It is just a few blocks away. You can learn a lot from them."

"Training school? Here?"

"Oh no," Bianca rolled her eyes when she saw the twinkle of interest in Cheren's eyes. "Not school. Anyyyyyything but school."

"You could learn a couple of things," Cilan said, winking. "I'm pretty sure I saw the young gentleman sitting here over there a while ago."

Mark, who had a mouthful of flan in his mouth, looked away shyly.

"They have night classes there," Chili explained, suddenly appearing as well and placed a platter of fresh berries onto the table. "They're usually for beginning adults who want to learn a bit about Pokémon. Guaranteed fast results AND no homework."

"No homework? That's a dream come true!" Bianca exclaimed and turned to her friends. "We should go."

"What? No!" Cheren quickly said. "We are not doing anymore detours! And in any case, we have to meet with the professor's friend."

"It's fine," Alex said automatically. "I can just meet her by myself. I'm sure it do-."

"Who is this friend you keep talking about?" Bianca asked exasperatedly. "I don't remember Professor Juniper talking about this person."

"Well if you hadn't run away in the first place, you might have learned that her friend is _Dr. Fennel_ and that we were sup-."

"Who is this Dr. Fennel?" Bianca interrupted again though she turned pink in embarrassment.

"Well she… A-actually, I'm not sure," Cheren confessed, realizing how little he knew about this person other than that Professor Juniper was friends with this doctor. "I just know that she lives on the west side of this town. See I even have her work address."

"Wait, _the _Professor Fennel? You know her?" Mark gaped in shock. The table got quiet. No one had thought Mark would suddenly speak up like that.

"Uhh, sort of," Alex said, realizing that the question was directed to him. "Why?"

"N-nothing. It's just that I admire her work. That's all. A-and you know Professor Juniper too?"

"Yes, we three do," Alex said, holding up his Pokedex. "We were the three trainers selected to help out with her Pokémon research." Bianca and Cheren held up their Pokedex as well. Mark's jaw dropped even lower.

"W-wow," Mark finally managed. "That is such a huge honor."

"Really?" Bianca looked bewildered. Alex was confused as well.

"Yes. Professor Juniper is one of the top scientists in the world. She was the first female Pokémon professor renowned for her contributions to the study of the origins of Pokémon and she contributed so many valuable theses that took the scientific world by storm. In fact, she even contributed funds to help build the Training school here."

"Oh… I didn't realize that."

"Of course, this is the city where many beginner trainers come for their first gym badge," Cress explained, helping his brother carry the dishes. "We believe that learning and building the foundation early is an essential key to becoming a successful trainer."

"Striaton City is a lot more research and teaching oriented than I ever expected," Cheren remarked. He noticed that everybody had pretty much finished eating and motioned to Cress. "Can we have the check?"

"Certainly," Cress said and quickly left.

"Then it's settled," Bianca exclaimed. "We'll go check out this school before we turn in for the night. With all this learning, we can be prepared for our journey!"

"Bianca…"

"What? This is my chance to prove to you guys that I'm a responsible trainer. I'm actually going to school! You can't say no to that."

On cue, Cress handed Cheren the bill. His face turned pale at an instant as he struggled to look directly at the number before him. "You want to prove that you're responsible? Take care of this check for me." He handed the paper to Bianca who after reading it, almost fainted to the ground.

"What?! How could we have spent so much?" Several of the other guests turned to see what the fuss was again. Mark looked red in the face as well.

"You're really asking that question?" Cheren asked motioning to the numerous plates still left on the table. Alex looked worried as well. He certainly didn't have cash. How in the world are they going to pay for this? Bianca grinned sheepishly at Cheren who immediately frowned. "Oh don't give me those sad puppy eyes again."

"Can we put it on tab then?"

"Seriously? This is you taking responsibility?"

"Well, this shouldn't count!"

"Here," Mark immediately pulled out his wallet. "This should cover at least my half of the meal."

"See Bianca, this is called being responsible." Bianca pouted and turned her head away, refusing to speak to Cheren. "Oh, so now we're going for the silent treatment aren't we?" Bianca didn't respond.

"Alex," Cheren turned to his friend. "Talk to her."

"Bianca, why is it so bad to just called your dad?" Bianca continued to pout. "Or you could just call your mom and leave a message for him. I'm sure he'll at least be glad to hear that you're okay." There was a long silence before Bianca said,

"Fine. I'll call." She didn't look happy but she was agreeing at the very least.

"Okay, great." Cheren looked relieved. "Bianca, you can call your dad and after that, we'll go visit Dr. Fennel."

"Wait, what about the Training School?"

"That can wait for another time."

"Oh come on. My dad can wait and so can this Fennel lady. Besides, it's school, Cheren. Doesn't that excite your intellectual side enough to get you interested?"

"Actually, I would like to go see Dr. Fennel instead," Alex interrupted softly. "As soon as possible." There was an awkward silence and Bianca, finally realizing why they need to meet up with this doctor, looked incredibly embarrassed now.

"Yeah, sure Alex. I mean… I thought Cheren was the one that… that was rather rude of me…"

"Hey," Alex said brightly, not taking a single offense. "This school sounds interesting though. You should check it out for me."

"Oh no!" Bianca immediately turned red. "I-I-I couldn't! I should go with you and…" She looked miserable, still feeling guilty for her comments.

"Actually you'll be doing a favor for me," Alex continued, sounding serious, "I need you to check the place out. If it's a really good school, then I want to see it for myself tomorrow." It was lame reasoning, but Cheren figured out that Alex was trying to get Bianca to go without feeling too guilty.

"Yeah, Bianca," Cheren agreed, helping Alex out. "We should check out this school. We could take notes and tell Alex how helpful the classes are." Bianca took a quick glance at Alex and Cheren, trying to be sure that they were both okay with it.

"O-okay then," Bianca said softly and gave a shy smile toward Alex who smiled encouragingly. "I'll do my best."

Mark was rather quiet during this conversation, stared intently and trying to pick up anything that could clue him in on what they were talking about. Something seemed amiss… these three were hiding something, and whether it is on purpose or not, he can't be sure.

"Wait, hold on. Alex, do you know where Dr. Fennel's office is? It won't do us good if you get lost." Cheren fumbled into his pockets and handed the piece of paper for Alex to read.

"Umm, no." Alex didn't really know anything about this city, let alone the street names.

"Hmm, guess we'll have to go look for it before we head to the scho-."

"I can show him the way. I know these streets pretty well." The three trainers quickly turned around as though they just realized Mark was still there. He blushed in embarrassment again. He had been doing that a lot today.

"Actually," Mark said softly, "I would like to meet Professor Fennel as well. You can give me the address and I can take Alex if that's alright with all of you." There was an uneasy glance between the three that didn't go unnoticed by Mark.

"Umm, sure," Alex said finally, unable to come up with an excuse. "That'll be fine."

"You should come with us Mark," Bianca said, trying to change Mark's mind. "You can help me in the class."

"Sorry Bianca," Mark replied with an apologetic look on his face. "Maybe next time." He stood up, ready and rather eager to leave and visit this doctor. "Shall we go?"

Everybody started getting up from the table before Bianca asked a rather important question.

"Wait, what about the check?"

…

_Thirty minutes later…_

"It was so good to see you. We hope you come visit our restaurant the next time you come to Striaton City."

"Or if you just want to have a battle, we will gladly accept and definitely won't lose next time around."

"We will! Bye!" Bianca waved back with both arms, a jolly expression on her face. The three brothers bowed back at them before returning to the restaurant. Mark gave a shy wave as well before turning his attention to the night sky.

The small blotches of red and orange remaining in the sky slowly turned into an inky purple and black as stars started to dot the air. Even when it was nighttime, the streets were still lively. Bright lights poured from shop windows, casting a glow onto the street path that was filled with tourists and citizens alike. The people on the street seemed to enjoy themselves, laughing amongst them before stopping window shop.

"Are you crying?" Alex asked Cheren.

"No, but my wallet is." Cheren sighed as he stared at the starry night. The light from the shops reflected off of his glasses so that Alex couldn't see his face. "You guys need to make sure you have some money on hand the next time you want to eat at a fancy restaurant."

"Yeah… sorry about that," Alex said sheepishly. "I'll pay you back."

"Sure…" Cheren looked back and saw Bianca literally stopping in front of every window, pointing at the merchandises on display. Cheren, who knew this would happen, quickly dragged Alex away to have a chat with him and left Mark in charge of supervising her.

Despite Mark's attempts to seem interested in Bianca's clothing rant, even Alex could see the glazed look in his eyes.

"Poor Mark," Cheren sighed, "As much as I care about Bianca, I don't think I can handle even an hour of shopping with her. I don't know why I agreed to go to this training school."

"Oh come on, you wanted to check out this school too, right?" Alex said grinning and Cheren blushed in embarrassment but didn't deny it.

"Well you know… it did sound interesting and you can never learn TOO much, after all… But will you be okay by yourself?"

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Besides, Mark is coming with me," Alex said, pointing at the haggard boy who was being shown, for the twentieth time, a pair of high heel shoes on display. "Just make sure you two don't get into trouble with the school officials."

"That should be my line. Make sure you don't do something that'll make Dr. Fennel feed you to a tank of Krokorok," Cheren said, giving Alex a knowing look before looking at the clock hanging near a store window. "We'll probably be gone for a couple of hours. I'll stop by Dr. Fennel's place if we're done early. If we're not there by the time you're finished, meet us at the Pokémon Center."

"No problem. We'll be fine. Hey Mark! You ready to show me the way?"

"Yes!… I mean. Yes, I'm ready," Mark, sounding relieved, quickly left Bianca to herself and ran to the front of the group. "Come on! It's this way."

"Wait! Hold on! Alex!" Before Alex could react, Bianca ran towards him, tripping over her feet and crashing into him in the process. Luckily though, Alex had managed to catch Bianca instead of falling down with her.

"Bianca," Cheren sighed as he helped her on her feet. "Take it easy. Alex is not going anywhere."

"Alex! Promise me you'll stay safe and not do anything stupid while we're both away." Bianca sounded unusually stern in her request, neither Cheren nor Alex were used to that.

"What? Bianca it's not like I'm-."

"Promise me!"

"Y-yeah," Alex said automatically, wondering where this was going. "I promise." Bianca grinned immediately, going back to her usual good-natured self.

"Good. And remember, when our Alex makes a promise, he never breaks it. Especially not with me." She hugged him all of a sudden, and for some reason he didn't understand, Alex couldn't help but turn red. It was strange; the last time they hugged, he wasn't embarrassed or anything. But now, with so many people watching…

Smiling and still showing off her cute buckteeth for good measure, Bianca quickly let Alex go and grabbed Cheren's arm. "Come on Cheren! Let's check out that store over there!"

"Wait, what about the school?"

"That can wait, now come on! I think I want to go shoe shopping."

While watching his friends leave, Alex couldn't think of anything except to meekly wave goodbye to the horrified and now crying Cheren.

…

"What's your relationship with Dr. Fennel?"

"Excuse me?"

"You are meeting one of the most well-known scientists in Unova," Mark explained as he navigated them to a quieter part of town. They had been walking in silence for a while as Mark made sure that they were heading in the right direction and stopped to ask for direction once or twice. "I was wondering if you're interested in her work or something." Truthfully, Mark was more than slightly envious. Alex didn't seem like the kind of person who would be that interested in meeting with scientists, discuss Pokémon theories and such. Yet here he was, acting rather obliviously about meeting with such an important person.

"Maybe," Alex shrugged uneasily, "We'll see." Mark gave a curious wonder at this sentence and stored it in his mind.

"Oh here we are. This is the address." Mark halted abruptly in front of a house.

_This is it,_ Alex thought, looking at the building in front of him. It was too dark to see the definite outline but he could tell it was a one-story high. A large smooth wall surrounded the house and the only noticeable entrance was the large gated door with an intercom button on the side of the wall. With his heart pounding, he pressed the red button.

"Yes?" The voice crackled through the intercom. "Who is it?" Alex and Mark glanced at each other, uncertain of what to say.

"Is this Dr. Fennel? My name is Alex. Professor Juniper sent me to talk to you." There was a short silence followed by a large click from the gate as it unlocked and swung open.

"Come and let yourself in," the intercom added, "I just unlocked the door as well." With slight trepidation, Alex grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.

"Hello? Helloooo?" Alex walked through the dark room. Although the floor was clean, the same could be said about the tables, which were littered with books and papers sprawled all over. Feeling uncertainty now, Alex fiddled with the Togekiss keychain attached to his belt.

"Hello?" Mark called out as well though his voice sounded shakier.

"Just a minute!" A female voice called out which was then followed by a muffled crash. Alex and Mark gave each other a quick uneasy glance. Finally, a rather tall woman entered the room as she flickered the lights on. She had dark navy blue hair that almost touched to the floor that seemed a bit messily sprawled around her a white lab coat before you began straightening it out. Judging from the pink shirt, the pink shoes, and the pink flower hairclip, it seemed obvious that she loved the color. "Hello! Sorry for the mess! I lost track of time and forgot to tidy up!"

"Doctor…. Fennel?" Alex asked tentatively, wondering if this woman was the right person.

"That's right. You must be Alex," the lady said as she straightened her square glasses. "A pleasure to meet you. Professor Juniper told me all about you." She blinked in confusion when she noticed someone behind Alex. "Oh, I don't think I was told about you. Are you… Cheren?"

"No. I'm not. I-I-I'm Mark," the kid mumbled almost inaudibly. He immediately went back to his introverted self and attempted to melt into the shadows.

"This is Mark, he wanted to meet you," Alex explained to the confused Fennel who apparently didn't catch what the trainer said. "He's fascinated with your work."

"Is that so? Well, nice to meet you. Again, pardon the mess. Can I get you boys anything? Some coffee?"

"No, I'm good."

"Same here," Alex said, still feeling full from the early dinner. "I just want to come by for the… umm…"

"Ah yes, I've discussed this with Juniper already," Dr. Fennel looked excited, "Long story short, I've made this exciting breakthrough that I think might help you."

"Really?" Alex felt a pulse of relief and excitement. Mark looked confused though, wondering what in the world are these people talking about.

"However," Dr. Fennel's face frowned for a minute, "I've hit a small ah, snag that's putting a huge block on the project at the moment."

"Snag?" Alex repeated in slight dismay.

"Nothing too serious," Dr. Fennel said quickly, as she tried to clear the nearest table. Muttering to herself, she was searching through long rolls of paper and exclaimed '_Aha!_' when she found what she was looking. "Here we go." She unrolled the long sheet of paper to reveal a diagram. Alex and Mark crowded around the table.

"Amazing," Mark whispered stared at the work before him. "I never would have thought about using an empathic energy neutralizer in that specific arrangement. And are those the ports for the cerebral sensors over there?"

"You seem quite versed in schematics!" Dr. Fennel gave Mark an impressed look and the trainer blushed in embarrassment. For the life of him, Alex could not figure out all of the technical jargon on the blueprint. The arrows, the chicken-scratch writing, the mathematics with symbols he didn't know even existed. It all really, really confused him.

"This is just a basic work-in-progress design, really. I'll probably have the real design worked out when I have everything I need," Dr. Fennel explained.

_Basic?!_ Alex didn't want to know what the final version was and shifted uneasily in his seat thinking about it.

"Right here," Dr. Fennel said, pointing a certain empty area, "is the missing piece that I need." Unable to follow her trail of thought on paper, Alex decided to just take Dr. Fennel's word for it and nodded.

"So to finish this, I need you to get something for me."

"Me?" Alex asked bewildered.

"Yes, in fact, why don't you come along as well," Dr. Fennel added to Mark.

"R-really?" Mark sputtered in surprise. To help out with Dr. Fennel was like a dream come true!

"Sure. This job requires Pokémon trainers, the more the merrier!" Dr. Fennel straightened her lab coat, grabbed her pink satchel bag, and proceeded to walk out the door, "In fact, let me show you how I do my fieldwork."

…

_Meanwhile in the ruins of a research facility…_

"Capture it!"

The Pokémon quickly rushed through the tall grass as it avoided its captors again. They were slow, but they were persistent. It prayed that it will lose them this time, maybe they would stop chasing it, but if anything, they seemed more fueled than before.

This all started just this morning. The creature noticed that these people were spending quite a lot of time searching for something in the grass though for what it didn't know. It wasn't until they spotted it watching them that it realized _it_ was the one that they were trying to catch. Trying to escape, the little creature, for the first in a long time, felt threatened in its own home.

It was nighttime; the moon was giving off a silver of light into the darkness of the abandoned facility. The creature memorized this territory by heart. It knew every single nook and cranny here, but its would-be-captors had help getting here in the first place and their 'help' was very good at hunting. It had just barely managed to avoid capture the last time, but ended up really battered.

"Where is it?" One gruff voice yelled. His voice even sounded dimwitted. There were indiscernible growls and hisses that responded.

"Well, it couldn't have gotten far," the other voice said, female this time. She sounded more calm and intelligent, which wasn't saying much judging by what it had to compare to. "Search this area again. Thoroughly."

The creature shivered as it now hid in a higher location and sighed in relief. Though only for a brief moment, it was safe. But why did it want it? Why weren't they giving up? This game of hunt and hunted was coming to an end and this home will become its grave.

It was only a matter of time.

**Author's Notes**

Yes! Our three trainers got their first gym badge. They'll be off for their next gym badge… right after a quick detour and an important event for Alex. Lol.

So, the group is split up again but we'll see how well this fares. Poor Cheren. Out of curiosity, do you know any guys who like to go shoe shopping with girls? Or at least willing to carry the bags? XP

Mark is back for those who remember him two or three chapters ago. Looks like he is in for some adventure with Alex in the next chapter.

And X&Y game is out. I heard it was a good game with all the new stuff they added. What do you guys think of the game?

Oh and since I most likely will not be able to update on that day, I just want to wish an early Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it.

Also, I've added a poll about a future project I might do. If you have not, please vote and let me know what you think.

Thanks for the reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	16. Stats or Friendship? Dreams or Memories?

Hello everybody! Wow, it's been a while since my last update. But it is great to be back. First chapter for the new 2014 year!... Man, I need to work faster.

A quick recap: Alex, Bianca, and Cheren won their first gym badge. Bianca and Cheren are heading off to school (Crazy right?) and Alex (with his new friend Mark) went off to see Dr. Fennel.

This will be a short arc but probably a very important one if all goes well.

Thanks **SinCityAssassin **for beating.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 14:**

"Come on, come on!" Bianca squealed as she pulled Cheren toward the doors. "We're going to be late at this rate! And on our first day!"

"Calm down, this isn't preschool," Cheren muttered as he allowed himself to be dragged into the building though he quietly whispered, "And anyways, you were the one who was lagging around to buy shoes." It had taken a while, with many unsubtle hints, but Bianca finally realized that they were going to be late.

"Oh… wow," Bianca gushed as she took in her surroundings.

'Wow' was not quite the reaction Cheren had as he eyed the place. The Striaton Training School, although quite large, looked like any other school he had ever come across.

In the front was a large front desk with a female receptionist behind it. The long hallways in the back were decorated with unused lockers and thick doors that lead into classrooms. There was even a rather plain-looking cafeteria at the end of the hallway that was open, despite the time. Though to Bianca, any new place, regardless of its normality, was going to be exciting and an adventurous experience to her.

"Good evening, are you here for the evening classes?" the receptionist asked politely, not at all surprise to see trainers walking in this late. There seemed to be rather lax dress codes at this school; she was wearing neon pink t-shirt and a comfy pair of faded blue jeans.

"Yep, that's us! This is our first time here! I'm Bianca. Nice to meet you."

"Charmed," the lady smiled sweetly but Cheren could detect a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice. Guess enthusiasm wasn't part of the job description. "Well, as you've probably heard, classes here are free as long as you sign in here." The lady pointed to the clipboard and the pen next to it. "Is there a particular course you would like to attend?"

"Particular… course?"

"We have three levels of difficulty – beginner, intermediate, and master courses. We also subdivide the topics you could learn like 'battling', 'breeding', and such. Not all is based on Pokémon categories of course. There are even things like math, history, reading and writing…"

"Ewww," Bianca grimaced. "That sounds a lot like school back at home."

"Bianca? This is a school, remember?"

"Oh yeahhhh…"

"It's all in the brochure," the lady continued, sounding slightly offended at the response she was getting. "We're the only school that provides a wide variety of subjects to students for free. Anybody can come and learn something."

"Oh okay… Umm, so what do we do…?" Bianca turned to Cheren, hoping he could take over this conversation now.

"Do you have basic trainer courses in battling available?" Although Cheren wanted to take an intermediate or even the master course, Bianca's lack of overall experience made the beginner's course the perfect place to start.

"Oh yes, that's one of our more popular classes," the lady said as she started to type on her computer. "There is one tonight in about fifteen minutes; lead by Dr. Fischer. He's an excellent teacher, a bit eccentric though. Anyways, this will be in… Room 113. Just straight down this hallway and take a left. I already have you in the class pending, but please wear these nametags," she passed them two tags and two slips of paper, "and hold on to these. These are your temporary passes for tonight; you'll need to return them here when you're finished."

"Thanks." Bianca took the cheap laminated cards that read 'VISITOR' in bright red. Cheren was busy sticking his nametag on his blue blazer without wrinkling it.

"If you are interested in taking more classes after today, please come to me for the application form, which after you turn in may take up to two to three work days to be recognized for a permanent student card. Bathrooms are just down this hall if you need to use it and please note that while you're just visiting, you are to abide by the rules of within this school."

"Rules?" Bianca quipped.

"That includes no running in the hallway or disrupting the class. Any food or drink must be consumed in the cafeteria. If you need to use your cellphone, please do it out here and not in the hallway. Any questions?"

"Uhhhhhh…"

"No, we're fine. Thank you very much," Cheren quickly interrupted; he realized the amount of information thrown at Bianca was overwhelming her. Following the woman's instructions, the two trainers walked down the dimly lit hallway. On the wall, there was a large board that showed students from previous years. A glass cabinet next to it displayed trophies and pictures of famous celebrities that came to visit.

"Room 113… Room 113… Here we are." Cheren stopped in front of the open door where light was pouring out onto the dark carpet. The noise coming from the inside of the room suggested that it was pretty packed. Cheren began feeling a bit excited at the prospect of learning from such a well-liked professo-

Cheren caught the sight of a man lazily leaning next to the door. He looked in his thirties, and he wore the strangest attire. He had on a rather long, rusty red overcoat with more patches than pockets. His short and curly red hair was hidden underneath a black top hat and a long ugly gray scarf was wrapped around his neck. He must have forgotten to look at a mirror this morning, given the fact that only half his face was shaved at all and the other half was covered with prickly hairs. In fact, if it weren't for the smell of lilac soap on his clothes and the two clean rows of straight white teeth that formed into a bright smile, he would've easily passed for a homeless person.

"Hello," the man said in a calm voice. "New students?" Cheren could only gape at how the man looked. Bianca, however, only replied by bobbing her head up and down. She held the ticket up delicately, as if it were made of gold; she didn't seem to take note of or mind the man's outfit at all.

"Are you… Dr. Fischer?" Cheren asked tentatively as he wondered who would hire someone dressed as bizarre as this man.

"That I am." The teacher held up his hand to shake and Cheren accepted it with slight trepidation. "And may I ask, what are your names?"

"I'm Bianca and this here is my friend Cheren." Bianca shook Dr. Fischer's hand rather energetically. "It is so nice to meet you too. We heard you are an excellent teacher."

_Don't forget eccentric_, Cheren thought, still trying to take in the man's outfit.

"That's so nice of you to say. I'll be sure to remember your names. You're not the only new students here today; so don't feel too uneasy. Class is starting now, so find a seat and wait for a minute."

"Okay, come on Cheren, let's go, go, go!" Bianca said, this time pushing Cheren into the room. He could not help but roll his eyes and Dr. Fischer merely chuckled at the sight.

The classroom was almost filled to the max capacity and the sound of chatter echoed in the room. Unlike regular public schools, the age range of the students was extensive. From as old as forty to as young as ten, here they all were, ready to learn the same thing. Cheren and Bianca managed to find two desks side by side and quickly slid into them. A couple of students glanced at them curiously, but they quickly went back to their conversations with their friends, ignoring them. The general response seemed to imply that new students commonly pop up just as suddenly as they leave in this class.

"Good evening everybody," Dr. Fischer's voice boomed through the classroom, his knuckles rapping on part of the board and making a thundering sound. The chatter immediately died and all eyes were on him. He picked up a fresh piece of white chalk and twirled it around his fingers like a baton. "For those who don't know me, I am... Doctor… Fischer." He wrote his name in cursive and in a flourishing manner against the blackboard. "Not Dr. Buchner. Dr. Buchner is the teacher with brown curly hair."

"So, I guess there are two half-shaved homeless men wandering around wearing tattered clothes and black top hats," a red-haired guy, sitting in front of Cheren, mumbled sardonically. The sarcasm resulted in a ripple of giggles, but Dr. Fischer was oblivious to the heckling.

"For newcomers, I would like to welcome all of you. Striaton Training School is for everybody, regardless of past experience and age. You don't just stop learning. I do teach intermediate and master classes, so come by after class today if you are interested," Dr. Fischer continued in a calm voice. "And I know this is sudden for the new students, but I did promise in my last class that we're having an actual practice battle today."

There was now a voice of delight through the group. Cheren and Bianca looked at each other with excitement. How lucky they were to have the rare opportunity to battle in a renowned setting.

"We will have mock battles out at the courtyard;" Dr. Fischer continued to explain, "There will be Pokémon provided by the school for those who do not have one with them. We'll be putting everything we learned to good use, so keep your thinking caps on." He said as he tapped his own head, "Remember the strength and weakness of each type of Pokémon and the varieties attacks that can use. If all of you do well in the mock battles, we might even go out to Route 2 and battle with wild Pokémon. Those of you who have empty Poke balls; I can also teach the basics of catching."

Now there was not a single student silent in the class. Everybody was ripping out their Poke balls in their bags and bouncing up and down in their seats with excitement. Cheren noticed that Bianca looked ready to explode as she stared at Dr. Fischer with impatience.

"BUT," Dr. Fischer grinned in a mischievous way, "Before we begin, let's have a quick pop quiz. Does anybody know exactly **what** Pokémon stats are?" The question was met with silence from the entire room. "Oh come now, I have discussed this in my previous class and I know I did mention it was a master course subject but still, can anybody give me the definition?"

"Something about the Pokémon's… Ability? Like unique and all?" A female voice piped up from the back of the class.

"Not exactly Sandra, Abilities are something entirely different. More like a unique attribute that can assist a Pokémon in battle. But good effort, I do like participation. Anybody else?"

The class in general was silent though now some were trying to find their notes in their backpacks, hoping to answer the question quickly.

"But, this is our first day of class, so obviously we don't know it," Bianca muttered, feeling relieved. Cheren didn't reply back to her however; instead he raised his hand high into the air.

"Oh you, Cheren, right?" Everybody glanced at new kid.

"Pokémon stats, or statistics, are a numerical approach to a Pokémon's skill classifications that are determined in eight separate fields– HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed."

"Very good," Dr. Fischer said, sounding really impressed. "What can affect the value of the stats of a Pokémon?"

"The level and nature of the Pokémon," Cheren responded immediately. "A Pokémon that grows stronger through battle experiences helps increase their stats while the nature determines which stats can be developed further or inhibited."

"Excellent!" Dr. Fischer said, sounding very pleased. "And a very formal answer I must add." The class looked surprised how quickly the question was answered. Bianca gave thumbs up to Cheren and mouthed out a 'Well done'. Cheren could feel a warm feeling of pride inside at the praise he was getting.

"Yo, Four-Eyes seems pretty smart," a sarcastic voice interrupted. Cheren saw that the comment came from the same red-haired guy who made the mocking remark earlier. He looked slightly older than Cheren and was dressed in outdoor attire. He was also a newcomer and had a nametag that read 'Max'.

"His name is Cheren!" Bianca said, angry at the lack of respect her friend was getting. Max glanced at Bianca for a moment before looking back at Cheren. "Cute girlfriend. So you can do something besides recite words from a textbook?" Max continued with a smirk. Bianca blushed and found herself looking at the table.

"Understanding Pokémon's statistical traits are important for a trainer," Cheren said calmly, not rising to the bait. "Each Pokémon is different, even if they are the same species. Knowing their strength and weakness can help you strategize the best way to battle." Max merely snorted with disbelief.

"You sound skeptical Mr. Max," Dr. Fisher interrupted and stating the obvious. "Would you like to share your opinions on the subject?"

"Well, who cares about that stuff? Shouldn't it be more like, getting to know the Pokémon and bonding with it? You can the strongest Pokémon in the world, but if you and the Pokémon don't get along, then all that stuff is pointless." There was a murmur of agreement among the classmates.

"I didn't say bonding with the Pokémon isn't important," Cheren defended. "But if you want your Pokémon to reach its full potential, you need to understand the technical stuff as well."

"Why should it matter?" Max said, still unconvinced. "Stats are stats. Don't tell me you only choose Pokémon with the best stats and discard the ones who don't fit your 'strategy'."

"That's not what I'm saying," Cheren said, sounding irritated for the first time. "But stats are not something a competitive trainer should just ignore. It is easier to show you than explain."

"Is that a challenge?" There was a hint of disbelief in Max's voice.

"Yeah, maybe I am," Cheren bit back.

"Wonderful!" Dr. Fischer exclaimed. The whole class turned to stare at him.

It's a bit odd when a situation where two students that looked like they were about to deck each other out excited a teacher so much.

"This will be an excellent learning opportunity to show how stats apply to Pokémon battling. Why don't we head to the courtyard and get started?"

…

_On the outskirts of Striaton City…_

"Here we are." Mark announced finally as Alex and him approach their destination. They were both carrying rather large duffle bags and the straps were digging into their shoulder blades. Alex paused for a moment to glance at the area before him.

Dr. Fennel was right about one thing – this place was definitely creepy. The cracking columns, the worn down walls, and the crumbling ceilings made the abandoned facility look more like an ancient ruin. The passing gray clouds, leaving everything in almost complete darkness, constantly blocked the silver of the moonlight. Tall grass overran the place, the breeze made them rustle like the sound of footsteps.

"Well, let's put this st-stuff somewhere s-safe and get the rest of the stuff from Dr. F-fennel's place. Shame we can't c-c-carry all of this at once." With both of their flashlights out, Mark shined his around the area, hoping nothing would suddenly pop out. Hanging out with him for a while now, Alex started to realize that the trainer's voice cracked once in a while, though it was not from fear. Mark did not seem to notice and Alex did not feel the need to point it out and ask about it.

After searching around for a bit, they spotted a large, gloomy-looking tree and decided that this was a perfect place to place their stuff. The dead leaves from the branches crackled from above, refusing to let go of their branch with each large gust of wind.

"This place is c-c-creepy. We should hurry and-."

"Do you hear something?" Alex glanced around, suddenly alert. The wind was now howling, but it also carried sounds – a mixture of footsteps, growling, and whispers of people talking.

"Yeah," Mark replied, definitely hearing the noise now. He frowned and had a puzzled look on his face. "What's going on? I thought this place was supposed to be abandoned." The two glanced at each, neither wanted to admit that the possibility of this place could be haunted as well.

"Maybe it's just some Pokémon," Mark finally said though he sounded unsure and laughed nervously. As though to prove him wrong, the noise continued and increased slightly in volume, with the talking more coherent. Alex frowned.

Something was definitely wrong.

"Hey, watch the stuff for a minute. I'll check it out." Alex dropped the duffle bag to the ground and, with only his flashlight, entered the ruins. Unfortunately, the small flashlight did little to uncover the darkness, and instead gave the long dark shadows a more detailed frightening appearance.

"Alex! Wait!" Mark hissed, fumbling with his own flashlight. Another beam of light flashed onto the path before the ruins. There was a crooked sign near the entrance and in peeling words, read 'DANGER'. Without feeling any sense of fear, Alex plunged into the darkness, moving his flashlight around as he hoped to find the source of the noise.

The strange noise finally quieted down into a whisper, but that did not deter Alex from continuing through the area. The jacket he had on did little to block the wind and he could feel goose bumps along his arm. The long grass tangled around his ankles as he tried to press forward.

"Oh, gosh it's way too dark here. Ah, here," Mark took out a Poké ball and threw it into the air. "Come on out!" Out revealed a purple chandelier Pokémon with its black arms tipped with dark purple fire.

"Kihihihihi!" The Pokémon giggled, noticing Alex and giving a rather sinister look.

"A Chandelure," Alex said calmly, immediately recognizing the Pokémon. Though where he got this information from, he could not say. He was starting to feel like a walking dictionary with all the information that kept popping out of his head like this. Chandelure looked slightly disappointed that its flashy and frightening entrance did not send Alex running off, screaming.

"Her name is Hal-Halloween," Mark introduced. "I usually have her out whe-when traveling in the dark. But for some reason, people f-freak out when they ss-see us." After a moment of pause, Mark added, "You know, you can check out in the Pokedex if you want to know about her." Alex looked puzzled for a moment until he noticed the look of anticipation in Mark's eyes and realized that his friend was actually curious and wanted to see the Pokedex in action.

"Later. After we check the noise out," Alex said finally.

"Oh ye-yes, of course." Mark coughed in embarrassment and motioned his Chandelure to follow Alex who was taking the lead. The Pokémon's purple flames helped expand the range of vision but it did not get rid of the creepiness of the area.

No one said anything. Mark was battling with his own thoughts, wondering if plunging into such a dangerous place was a good idea. Alex fell silent for a different reason. There was another reason why he did not want to take the Pokedex out. The last time he did, things did not go so well and he almost ended up dead.

_No, I can't let every detail in my life scare me_, Alex thought. But he could still remember vividly of that man's eyes. The hatred… the rage…

Now that they were in the heart of the ruins, the place seemed to quiet down a bit. Alex was starting to doubt whether or not it was the wind playing tricks when his ears picked up what was definitely the sound of voices. Two of them.

Moving forward, Alex realized the further he went, the more the piles of rocks, pillars, and crumbling walls disappeared as he followed the sound and spotted a large empty courtyard up ahead. That's where the voices were coming from. From behind, Alex could hear a snap and a tumbling sound.

"Ouch. Stupid twig…"

Alex ignored the comment and immediately turned off his flashlight. He crept closer to the open area but still hid in the shadows. He pressed his back against the nearest crumbling wall and listened intently.

"Hey, what-?"

"Shh!" Alex hissed, feeling his body tensed. Realizing this, Mark immediately hushed and copied Alex's position. Together they listened intently though the voice was now screaming.

"This little bugger doesn't know when to give up." This voice sounded female, high and a bit shrill. "Rick, you need to use more force. And hurry up. I can't see that well in the dark."

"Give us that Dream Mist!" It was a deep voice, definitely male.

There was a 'pah' sound followed by a high-pitched squeal. Before Alex could react, Mark immediately jumped out of their hiding place.

"What's going on here?" Mark demanded as he flashed his flashlight on the two human shadows. Alex, realizing there was no point in hiding now, came out as well in case Mark needed backup. Halloween appeared from behind; making the same creepy giggling sound it did earlier.

"GAHHH! I knew this place was haunted." The man flinched and was balancing on one foot while in some amateur karate stance. His big dark olive eyes gave him an appearance of a Magikarp with a rather busy brown mustache.

The second person, definitely woman, looked shock to see bystanders before them and shielded her green eyes from the bright light. "Who are you two?! Where did you come from?"

Alex could only stare mutely at the scene before him. The lady and man, both around their early thirties, were wearing the strangest set of outfits – a tight hood, fitting cloak and tights that looked like it came straight from a renaissance fair. There was some sort of coat of arms on the front on their white tunics, but the lack of light made it difficult to see. However, that was not what grabbed his full attention, it was on the ground under those two. There was a round pink Pokémon, and although the blood looked black in the light, there were fresh wounds across the Pokémon's back.

_Is… Is that a Munna?_ The darkness made it difficult to determine to confirm. Instinctively, Alex grabbed his Pokedex, which chimed in.

_[Munna, the Dream Eater Pokémon. This Pokémon appears in front of people and eat their dreams, expelling a pink-colored mist to project those dreams.]_

_So it is a Munna… but what-?_

"Who are you two?!" Mark demanded. The sight of the injured Pokémon changed the trainer's demeanor; his voice was now laced with anger.

"I could ask you brats the same thing!" The blonde woman retorted back, though somewhat shakily. "This place is off limits!"

"We're Team Plasma!" The man said in a rather loud voice, his visible beer belly rumbled as he spoke. "We liberate Pokémon from foolish humans like you!"

_Team Plasma?_ That name sent a shiver down Alex's spine and his entire body tensed.

"Rick! Let me do the talking!" The woman slapped the man for his stupidity.

"Liberate? What does that have to do with injuring that Munna?!"Mark continued to demand.

"Fools! Munna can emit Dream Mist substance that we need!"

"Rick! Shut up!"

"Dream Mist? Isn't that the stuff Dr. Fennel wants us to find?" Mark mumbled to Alex, though he already knew the answer. Dr. Fennel did not explain in great detail, but she did say that the Dream Mist would help with her research.

Still, why were these people looking for the exact same thing, and why did they show up on the same night? A coincidence? It was a question can wait later, however, as what was important now was to get that Munna out of harm's way.

Meanwhile, Alex noticed that Mark was trying to edge his way toward the injured wild Pokémon without the two grunts noticing. Alex realized that he needed to distract the two perpetrators. They do not notice at the moment, but their initial shock of the situation would wear out sooner or later. If they found out what Mark was doing…

"What does Dream Mist have to do with liberating Pokémon?" Alex asked out loud, though he could feel voice trembling slightly.

"We're not telling you," the woman hissed like a cat. Luckily for them, her partner still didn't get the message of the whole 'shutting up' thing.

"Ha! You kids don't know anything! This Dream Mist is perfect for controlling the people's hearts and make them realize what they're doing to their Pokémon is wrong!" The whole area was dead silent as Mark and Alex tried to grasp the lunatic reasoning.

"Did they just tell us their plan?" Mark gaped, not believing what he just heard. "And may I add, _an incredibly stupid one_?"

"Maybe they are idiots," Alex said plainly. Rather than looking threatening, they gave off a comical duo presence. Yet, the word 'Team Plasma' made Alex fearful for some reason.

"Rick! Didn't I tell you to SHUT UP?!" The woman punched the man on the top of his head this time. "This was a top secret mission from the boss!"

"Ouch! Oh you're right! We just need to hurry with this! You stupid Munna! Spit out that Dream Mist. Now!" The man gave another kick, causing the pink Pokémon to squeal in pain again.

"STOP THAT!" Again, another silent moment but this time, there was tension in the air.

"What did you say to me kid?!" The man obviously did not like being talked down by someone younger.

But Alex didn't care about that; he could feel the seething emotion raging through the course of his body. Before his fury could get the best of him, Mark stepped forward. He had his sight on the grunts; Alex could tell his friend's body was shaking with rage.

"Are you deaf, you stupid old man? My friend said to _STEP AWAY FROM THAT MUNNA_!" Mark suddenly threw out a Poke ball to reveal a large Gallade. Its green tonfa-like arms rose to a combat stance.

"Edge, use Leaf Blade!" The Pokémon held up its arm blades and they gave off a bright light-green hue. Gallade charged at the two thugs without the slightest hesitation. Although it did not seem Edge came at the Team Plasma grunts with killing intent, they were still forced to jump out of the way regardless, landing ungracefully into the pile of dirt and rubble.

"O-old?! Did that twerp call me 'OLD'?!" The man spat out bits of grass as he struggled to get up. "You brat!" He took out a Poke ball, ready for battle.

"Rick! Forget that! The Munna is going to get away!" However, Rick ignored his partner's cries and threw out a Poke ball.

"You're up Patrat!"

The brown chipmunk Pokémon had big cheek pouches and a long tail with a white tip. Its blood shot eyes stared up at Gallade who was five times its height.

"Super Fang!" The rodent Pokémon's sharp front teeth glowed and bit down on one of Edge's arms on a vital pressure point. The psychic Pokémon flinched in pain as he tried to shake the Patrat off.

"Close Combat! Let's go!" Edge raised its arm and slammed the Pokémon against the ground repeatedly. The chipmunk Pokémon was still holding on tightly but was also being pummeled by Edge's attack. It was only a matter of time before Patrat was unable to keep its grip.

"No! Patrat!"

Meanwhile, the Team Plasma lady was not going to just stand by and watch and threw out her own Poke ball.

"Purrloin!"

Alex took a sudden step back when he saw the purple feline Pokémon. It was not the same Purrloin (this one was walking on four legs) but the last time he encountered one from this species, it almost killed him.

"NOOO! Not a cat!" If Alex looked unsettled, Mark's reaction was ten times worse. He had dropped his flashlight and started running backwards, getting as far away as possible. In the process, he tripped onto the ground. Unfortunately, the lady noticed the trainer's reaction. Though she looked surprised for a moment, she then smirked at the opportunity.

"Purrloin, Fury Swipes!" The feline cat advanced with intensity and eagerness.

"Oh nononononononono," Mark muttered, sweating now.

"Mark! Get up!" Alex yelled, trying to pull his friend out of harm's way. The cat's sharp claws extended out and aimed toward Alex and Mark.

"**AUGH! GET IT AWAY!"** Mark looked like he was about to hyperventilate as he shielded his body with his arms.

A sudden burst of purple fire shot at the Purrloin, causing the cat to squeal in fear and scamper back to its trainer. The fire came from Halloween who floated right next to her trainer. The chandelier Pokémon's face had turned particularly haunting at the sight of her trainer in danger.

"**Lureeeee!"** Another more powerful stream of purple flames shot towards the woman and her Purrloin. The two screamed and managed to avoid the attack, resulting in furthering the distance between the woman and Mark. Mark's Gallade had also witnessed what happened, and the anger he felt, watching his trainer being attacked seeped into its fighting.

The psychic Pokémon lost control and started to do a full-on assault of Close Combat on its nearest target – Patrat. The Pokémon was unable to hold on to Edge's arm anymore and was flung high into the air before crashing into a large crumbling wall.

"NO! PATRAT!" The man roared, freaking out. There was a stunned silence as Edge slowly turned towards the Purrloin. The male Pokémon was not finished yet.

Purrloin, now completely frightened out of its mind, screeched and scampered off into the darkness with the psychic Pokémon hot on its tail. Chandelure joined the chase as well, giggling in a menacing way, its cackling echoed throughout the ruins.

"No! Come back!" The woman screeched, realizing her only Pokémon was gone, leaving her defenseless.

"Oh Arceus, Edge gone berserk again," Mark gasped as he snapped out of his petrified fear.

The Plasma grunt lady realized that neither she nor her partner could win against these trainers. At this rate, they'd have failed their objective; and failing was not something the boss tolerated. They were going to have to switch to Plan B.

"Oh, forget this!" The woman squealed. "Rick! Just catch that Pokémon. We can get all the Dream Mist later!"

"Good idea," the man said and reached for an empty Poke ball in his bag. Alex flinched. He had totally forgotten to get to the Munna during the whole battle.

"NO!" Mark got up and dashed towards the grunts, making a grab for the man's hand. They struggled for a moment before Mark managed to knock the Poke ball out of Rick's hand. At the same time, Alex unceremoniously knocked the woman aside, who had tried to reach the injured Pokémon, and grabbed the wounded Munna.

"RUN ALEX!"

Alex didn't need to be told twice and immediately sprinted toward the darkness of the ruins. He dropped his flashlight during the struggle earlier and was now running around completely blind.

"Grab that kid!" The lady screeched in panic. "We can't lose it again. And you! Get off of me!" Mark landed on the lady after Rick managed to throw the trainer off of him to go after Alex.

_Left, right, left, left again._ The place was starting to feel like a maze now that Alex was running blindly. He tripped over a rock once but he still got up and continued on. He was gasping for air and his legs were burning with exhaustion. Several minutes in, Alex suddenly realized that running in the dark like this was obviously not a good plan. He needed to hide first and then try to backtrack to where he came from. If he could find Mark, they can run back into town and notify the authorities.

Alex held his position as he hid behind a crumbling foundation. He tried not to breathe too loudly as he tried to catch his breath, his heart still pounded violently from his run. They were still looking for him, but it seemed that they were having more trouble in the darkness than he had. Alex heard their boots stomping through the thick grass and their curses as they tripped over rocks and smashed against the crumbling ruins.

"It's okay," Alex muttered to the wounded Pokémon and realized that the small pink bundle was cold and shivering in pain. He took off his jacket and wrapped it gently around the Munna. The cool evening air gave him shivers down his arms, but he ignored it. "We're going to get you to a Pokémon Center. Just hang in there until I find a way out."

Finally, Munna looked up at Alex. Its red eyes were gentle and calm, despite the ordeal it went through.

"Munnaaaaa," it sighed and nudged closer to Alex. The purple flower patterns along its back were riddled with long scars and Alex felt a stabbing pain inside.

"Why… would they do this to you…?" Alex slowly looked around from his hiding place, making sure those two were not near the vicinity.

Team Plasma… why did that name sound so familiar? Alex had the feeling these people were going to be much more threatening than he realized… but what did they want? Why were they harming Pokémon?

All of a sudden, pink smoke clouded around the Munna. Alex almost gasped out loud in shock and confusion before he realized that Munna was the one releasing the smoke.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you okay?" Alex panicked, accidentally inhaling some of the fume in the process. The smoke gave a calming and relaxing aroma, nothing like he expected. His eyes suddenly felt heavy; in a daze, he watched as the smoke continued to surround him. But the smoke was slowly morphing, turning into a more defined form.

Suddenly, Alex saw something he could not comprehend and wondered if he was hallucinating. He watched the scene before him and then –

**He remembered.**

**Author's Notes**

Well, that was a good cliffhanger. I think I'll end the story like that. :D

And it looks like Cheren is going to be battling with this new Max person. I was actually tempted to name Max 'Ash' when I was writing out this character.

Stats vs. Friendship power! Which is stronger? Lol. I always find it amusing how playing the Pokémon games are different from the Pokémon anime. Level and strength mean nothing in the show as clearly proven over the years yet it is such an important factor in the games.

So moving on, as you can probably tell, I'm on a very busy and tight schedule. I actually have part of the next chapter written out but I still need to clean up some parts so it'll be a while before it comes out. Rest assure. This story is still continuing.

And in other news, the upcoming Super Smash Bros revealed sixth generation Pokémon and mega evolution for Charizard!

What is your favorite Super Smash Bros character?

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.

**-JapanDreamer**


	17. Detect Attacks

Yes! New chapter! And guess what? Next chapter is almost done! :D

I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but let's just say having final exams and then your car broke down four days after you just got it fixed = unhappy person. I've been really busy in all honesty for the past few months, so I hope two quick updates on this story can make up for it.

So here is the deal; I had twenty-three pages chapter (part of the reason why I haven't updated most of the other stories), but after talking to my editor, we've decided that it is best to cut it into two chapters. Don't worry! The next chapter will be up sooner than usual, so be on the lookout. Thanks **SinCityAssassin** for the endless help.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 15:**

**_Nuvema Town…_**

Dina sat at the kitchen table and stared out of the window, a cup of cold coffee in front of her still filled to the brim. Her blue eyes were sore and red from crying and she couldn't will herself to fall sleep, no matter how exhausted she felt. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks were coming by soon and Professor Juniper promised to call her as well, but Dina didn't have the heart or energy to be around people right now. She spent yesterday lying on the couch watching television; even then she barely remembered anything that day.

She was going through the motions of life without thinking about anything. She could only think about her son, the one who couldn't recognize her. Tears started welling up in her eyes again as she put her head down on the table. She choked back the sobs and wondered it was possible to stop the pain in her chest.

_I am a failure_, she thought. To her, being a parent meant being able to protect her child, teach him everything about being a person. She let him go off on his journey, and her son returned to her near dead with no recollection of his past. And now… he was gone again…

Her son… her only son… Since he was young, Alex had never been the type to stay still and listen to orders. He was always rash; he couldn't wait to go out into the world and spent more time outside than inside. He always came back home with more scrapes and bruises than he started. If it weren't for Dina, Alex would've even spent all his nights sleeping in the yard. Despite that, he was also kind and honest, willing to admit mistakes and his own shortcomings. He didn't deserve any of what happened to him.

Dina turned her head to see the old grainy photo taped on the old refrigerator. Alex had just turned four and for once, was standing perfectly still in front of the camera. He had on a red baseball cap with white Poke ball logo, big enough that it covered most of Alex's face. But Dina could see the big grin peeking out from beneath the rim. And crouching down next to Alex patting his head was…

_Of course…_ Dina couldn't believe she forgot to contact him. How long has it been since they last talked?

Finally gathering the strength, she stood up and dumped the cold coffee into the sink. Opening one of the kitchen cabinet, she grabbed a jar far in the back, underneath it a small key. Dina went straight to the closet to take out a small box from the top shelf. Carefully, she smoothly unlocked it, revealing a Pokegear inside, almost untouched. Taking it out, she had a moment of hesitation before actually dialing the number. It's been ages since she last used this number, but she still remembered it by heart. It took a while before someone on the other end finally picked up.

"Hey it's me," Dina said, her throat was raw from crying. "No, I'm fine. I'm…" Dina pushed back a strand of hair from her face and took a shaky breath. She couldn't act like she was fine. Not to him.

"I'm sorry. I'm not fine. I- I need to talk to you. It's about Alex. Something happened. I…I need you to come home… Please…"

…

**_Dreamyard…_**

Rick cursed out loud as he stubbed his toe against a rock for a second time. He paused to clutch his foot for a while until the pain went away before running again. The only source of light in the area was a sliver of moonlight, barely penetrating the ruined ceilings. The grunt started to wish he had brought a flashlight on this mission, or at least stole the other kid's flashlight when he had the chance. He continued to blindly stomp around the area again, stubbing his toe a third time for good measure. At this rate, they'd never find the brat.

_Freaking darkness, why can't I just smash this roof in so I can finally see a damn thing around here?_ Rick quietly thought to himself before finally deciding to stop walking around. Though he wasn't the sharpest person, he had enough sense to calm down and wait, concentrating on hearing any noise. Eventually he heard something rustling in the darkness, it didn't sound like a breeze; it sounded like someone was there, someone trying to move.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Spotted, Alex froze in place. He had hoped crawling on his stomach to escape and letting the darkness and the tall grass conceal him would work.

"Give me that Munna!" Rick growled menacingly as he reached out to grab the Pokémon clutched in the boy's arms.

"Now!"

Before he could react, Rick was blasted with a sudden jet of water. The knockback caused him to fumble backwards, landing quite painfully onto a pile of rocks.

"Pah!" The chubby Plasma grunt spat out water and scrambled to his feet, his outfit soaking wet and ruined. "You little brat!" The Pokémon in the brat's arms was not the Munna, but an Oshawott. The little otter Pokémon looked amusingly at the Plasma grunt for falling into the trap before letting out another blast of water at the man's face for good measure. "**YOU!**"

Alex had managed to run off before the grunt could get back up again, but Rick managed to catch a glimpse of the injured Munna clinging onto the trainer's head.

"Rick! There you are!" The woman said angrily, suddenly appearing from behind. "What are you doing? And why are you soaking wet?"

"Th-that kid… th-that way," Rick sputtered, too angry to form complete sentences and unable to calm down. He pointed in the direction the trainer went and his partner stormed off.

The woman continued to fume, her footsteps muffled by the thick grass. She had underestimated those two kids; she didn't think they could crush them so badly like that in a Pokémon battle. She continued to mull over the fact, getting angrier and angrier; but her face was deathly calm. The atmosphere around her was ominous and she took a deep breath as she continued forward, choosing to hold onto the deep rage she felt. There was a reason why she was always the one to pick up after Rick's failures: once it gets on her nerves enough, she becomes frighteningly efficient.

…

Mark stumbled through the ruins after Alex; Mark's hand shakily grasped the flashlight as adrenaline pulsed through him. He had never felt more exhausted than before, but the excitement he was feeling had him on high alert in case he managed to catch up to Alex and the Munna. Mark never imagined that the guy could run so far and fast and was starting to wonder whether he should work out more before he almost collided into someone. Speak of the devil.

"Mark!" Alex gasped. His flashlight in hand, Mark noticed an Oshawott in Alex's arms and, to Mark's immense relief, the wild Munna sitting comfortably on top of Alex's head. It was an odd sight that Mark would've spent time questioning if they hadn't had the need to get the hell out of these ruins.

"A-Alex, there you are," Mark whispered though it sounded more like a hiss. "We n-need to get out of he…here." He was gasping for air and seemed having trouble in keeping his voice down. The little otter squealed a happy noise in Alex's arms all of a sudden.

"OSHAWOTT!"

"Shh!" Alex hissed. Mark and Alex glanced around, praying that the loud bark didn't attract any unwanted attention. "Here, get back into your Poke ball." The little otter pouted and tried to squirm out of the way until it was placed back into its ball.

"Oshawott managed to Water Gun that grunt in the face, but the little guy kept thinking that this whole chase was a game. Luckily, Munna is still with us," Alex sighed before he turned back to Mark. "But you're right. We need to get out of here. Where is the exit?" Mark didn't respond and merely stare strangely at Alex. "Something wrong?"

"No, um, nothing. Here. It's this way," Mark said, taking the lead. Though they walked for a bit, the two didn't get far before they were quickly ambushed.

"Get on your knees." Mark and Alex froze and turned to the sound of the woman's icy voice. Mark quickly reached for another one of his Poke balls.

"Go ahead. Take out another Pokémon. That is if you're fast enough." A loud 'click' sound shattered the still silence and Mark's hand hung in midair.

"You two are pretty strong. I'll give you that. I'd call you clever for getting away until now, but my partner is too much of an oaf to get anything right." Her voice sounded different from before; it was deeper, softer, and almost completely emotionless if the trainers hadn't felt the contempt she held in her words. As she stepped out into the moonlight, Mark could see her holding a gun.

"You like this thing? It's got this neat trick that makes your heart stop beating," she swayed the gun's barrel between the two trainers, "the only question is – who wants to be first?"

"You wouldn't," Mark said, trying to see through the woman's bluff. Unfortunately, there wasn't a trace of uncertainty in the woman's eyes; it only held malice.

"Looks like you want to test out this theory," She aimed straight at Alex, "Hand over the Munna, now."

Suddenly, Alex's head felt lighter, he thought he was just getting dazed at the prospect of being shot when he realized the real cause.

"Munna, NO!" Alex made a grab at it, but the Pokémon had already flown out of his reach. It flew toward the woman, whimpering in fear of the woman hurting its saviors. Mark tried to make a move as well, but the female grunt shot at the ground in front of him.

_Well, the gun's real_, Mark thought, though that didn't change anything for better.

"Next one's coming for your head if you don't sit still!" the woman warned. She then turned her attention to the Munna and smiled sweetly. "That's a good Munna. See? That wasn't so hard, now new friends won't get killed. At least not by me." Munna flinched at the words and Mark was starting to wish he had made another move to stop Munna.

"M'lady!" Rick yelled, finally coming into view. He wheezed and gasped as he clutched a stitch in his ribs, he was still dripping a trail of water behind him.

"Rick. Finally, you're here. Do me a favor and finish off these two." For the first time this whole night, Rick smiled, rather evilly.

"With pleasure." He sauntered over to the trainers. "But who should I start with first?"

"Doesn't matter. The one that annoyed you the most."

Munna squealed in protest but the woman grabbed and pinched it. "Stay still you pathetic creature. It's your fault in the first place that they're in this mess." Munna continued to whimper; thick tears streamed from its red eyes.

As the man came towards them, Alex felt his entire body turn rigid. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, and only one thought on his mind was fear – something that he kept feeling over and over again ever since he's near Team Plasma. This last sensation would be his last though if he couldn't find a way to get out of this situation. Then Alex realized something.

_Fear… That's it!_

"Munna!" Alex yelled out, "Give them something to be afraid of!"

"Shut up, you goddamn brat!" Rick slammed Alex's head to the ground with his palm. "That's for that water incident earlier." Mark winced in reaction, but Alex was not out just yet.

"You have the power! I've seen it! You can-_GUH_!"

"ALEX!" Mark yelled, horrified as Rick started to kick Alex in the stomach and silencing him in the process.

"I told you to shut up kid!" The trainer clutched his stomach and rolled across the ground; a moan escaped from his mouth.

"YOU!" Mark's face was filled with rage as he reached for his Poke ball, but Rick quickly kicked Mark to the ground as well, making him saw stars.

"That was for knocking me down," Rick growled as Mark coughed in pain.

"Forget it Rick. Just hurry up and end these brats. We need to head back to the base before…wait, what the-?!" A haze of pink smoke that seemed to have come out of nowhere was lighting up the dark ruins. The woman looked around frantically and noticed the Munna was nowhere to be found. "What is this?! Where is this coming from?" The woman panicked as she waved her gun around. She held up one arm over her mouth to not inhale any of the smoke. Rick started screaming, wildly waving his arms around in circles.

"GET IT OFF ME, GET IT OFF ME!"

Mark gaped as pink smoke snaked around his legs. It wasn't hurting him, so that was a relief. From the corner of his eye, Mark saw a weak grin on Alex's face. Did the guy mean for this to happen?

"It seems you two are wasting my time."

The two Plasma grunts fell silent, recognizing the voice. They glanced over at the same direction and turned paled in unison.

"Ho…Ho…**Honorable Ghetis**!" The two shrieked in fear and immediately kneeled to the ground as a knight would for a king.

Alex winced as he glanced over his shoulder to see a figure towering over him. However, the person's facial appearance was clouded by the smog; Alex could only make out the bizarre purple robes and the long wavy hair.

Alex has never seen this man before, but whoever he was; he was definitely someone of importance judging by the way these two grunts were quaking in their boots. Even the woman was frightened.

"The efforts of Team Plasma were to serve to separate Pokémon from the foolish grasp of humanity. But it appears neither of you honor this creed for this mission to bear fruit." The man's voice rumbled deeply. "Those who cannot fulfill their duties do not have the right to be in Team Plasma!" The two grunts flinched at his words and immediately began to spew out apologies and excuses.

"Honorable Ghetsis! We are sorry!" the grunts blubbered.

"We are ashamed of our shortcomings and we cannot ask for anything more than forgiveness!"

"We'll capture the Munna," Rick said, taking out his Pokeball. "See? And everything will go according to plan!"

Alex looked into the scene before him, though the pink smoke continued to fog a lot of his view. He wondered why the man would allow the grunts such lengths as to harm Munna if he wanted to save Pokémon. Why were the grunts this adamant about taking Munna? The pink smoke began to fade a bit.

Suddenly however, the Ghetsis apparition exploded in a puff of smoke, with two large shadows jumping out of it. The pink smoke slowly dissipated along with the 'Honorable Ghetis'. Of course, the grunts weren't exactly paying attention by then. Then suddenly, two large shadows jumped out from the ruins and landed in front.

"_AHHHHH! GHOSTSSSS! GHOSTS! GHOSTS!_" Rick yelled as he shielded himself with his arms. His partner quickly turned his attention to him, smacking him to calm down. Mark likewise felt shivers down his spine, frantically grabbing for his flashlight to spot the ghosts. It wasn't until his flashlight lit up that he realized what the two shadows were.

"EDGE! HA-HALLOWEEN!" Mark had never felt so relieved in his life to see his Pokémon, embracing them heartily while his two Pokémon began feeling uncomfortable. He turned around triumphantly to the two stunned grunts.

"N-Now the situation is in our favor. Edge!"

The Gallade's eyes began glowing a luminescent blue. Before she could aim, the woman's gun and the Rick's Pokeball suddenly flew out of their grasps, enveloped by an aura. With a flinging gesture, Edge crumpled the gun with his powers, turning it into a ball of useless junk while throwing the Plasma grunt's Pokeball as far as he could out of the forest.

"Le-lesson about psychic Pokémon," Mark said, "Th-there's no beating them, and unfortunately f-for you, they hold grudges," Edge then leap forward and used his Leaf Blade in Rick's direction, knocking him back into the tall grass. "Th-that's for kicking us earlier," he said.

Meanwhile, Alex quickly formed a rudimentary plan. Mark couldn't keep their attention for long and he had to get Munna before they noticed it. Alex immediately launched himself at the woman, slamming her into the grass as well while managing to grab Munna from behind her. They can't lose the Pokémon again, so Alex did the first thing that came to mind. He grabbed an empty Poke ball from his bag and showed it to Munna. The Pokémon must have realized what Alex was doing, as it nudged its snout at the Pokeball's button, allowing it to get caught. There was no resistance, as quickly as the Munna was captured, a loud ping emanated, indicating that Munna was now Alex's Pokémon.

"I promise I'll release you back here after this," Alex whispered, now relieved that Munna was safe.

"Wh-what?! Y-you… You goddamn brat!" The woman picked herself up from the grass and rushed towards Alex to grab the Poke ball from him, but Alex threw the ball back to Mark, who caught it with one hand.

"MARK! GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Oh no, you don't!" The woman grabbed Alex by the throat and trapping him in a painful chokehold. Alex tried to struggle to get out of it, but was growing weaker from the lack of air. She turned to Mark to let him see the pain in his friend's face.

"This plan WILL NOT fall to a bunch of little brats!" she shouted angrily, squeezing Alex's neck a bit harder, "If you want your friend to live, you'll give us that Poke ball! Understand?" As if to prove that she still had the advantage, she forced Alex on his feet and shook his body for effect. Alex, with all his strength, tried to pry the woman's fingers off but his brown eyes were pleading for Mark to run away. Mark only stood there, silent and unmoving.

"I don't think you're the one who understands," he said, eerily calm without a stutter in his voice, "You injured a wild Pokémon for your selfish goals, held a gun to my face, and threaten to kill my friend. And when you threaten me and my friends, you end up in the worst position possible." He held up Munna's Poke ball and dropped it into Edge's hand.

"Edge, Teleport!" A bright flash of light enveloped the area before the grunts could register what happened, but it was too late. The Pokémon and the Poke ball it held had vanished in an instant.

"No… No! NO NOOOOOO!"

"What the-? Where did it go?!" Rick gaped; still not grasping the situation they were in.

"You're down one Munna, I wonder how your boss is going to react to your failure? Halloween!" The ghost Pokémon suddenly appeared in front of the woman and spewed a jet of fire at her face. The woman barely had time to dodge while releasing Alex in the process. The trainer painfully gasped for air when she had let go. He hurried over Mark's side, rubbing his throat.

"Like I said," Mark repeated, "The worst position possible."

Both of the grunts realize their enormous loss, Rick was fuming very visibly and looked almost ready to attack the trainers at that moment. His partner kept herself calm, but the fury she exuded was unmistakable as she grabbed her partner by the collar.

"I'm not going to forget this! Rick, get the hell out of here!" Rick opened his mouth in shock and before he could object, the woman kicked him to remind him who was in charge. The two grunts immediately ran, speeding off into the darkness.

"Halloween, after them! Don't let them get away!" Following his order, Halloween chased after the two grunts. Frustrated by their speed, the fire ghost Pokémon sent out a stream of purple flame, hitting a pillar in its haste, blackening it. "Careful with the fire! Don't send this forest up in flames!"

The two grunts were almost at the entrance of the Dreamyard, on path for Route 3. It'd be more difficult to catch up to them if they went into the city, but that was all the more reason for Alex and Rick to pick up the pace. Ahead of the trail, a light shone through the night before it was focused on the group of trainers. It was a flashlight shining on them, owned by a Professor Fennel.

"Who's here?! Hey! Stop right there!" the professor yelled out, aiming the light at the two grunts running towards her.

"Get out of the way!" The woman shoved Dr. Fennel, causing her to fall to the ground. The female Plasma grunt wrenched the flashlight out of the doctor's hands and continued to run after her partner.

"Wha-? Hey!"

"Dr. Fennel!" Rick stopped a bit to help pick up the fallen doctor while Alex ran off ahead of them, leaving Fennel confused and also very annoyed.

"There you are! Do you know how long you've been gone?!" she yelled before glancing at the path they ran from, "Don't tell me you decided to explore in Dreamyard after I explicitly told you NOT to go in there!"

"D-Dr. Fennel! There's no time! We need to catch Team Plasma!" Mark replied hectically.

"Wait, Team Plasma? What's going on…!" Dr. Fennel's face turned frantic as she looked back at Alex chasing the two grunts ahead of him.

"Dr. Fennel, please! I need to go! Go and get the police! Quickly!" Mark did not explain any further before following after Alex.

"Wait!" But it was too late. The two trainers disappeared towards Route 3. Fennel groaned before going back towards the city as fast as she could. She hastily searched for her Xtransceiver to call what help she could with what little she had seen.

…

Now armed with a flashlight, the two grunts ran faster though the field, with Alex and Rick barely trailing behind. Alex could tell from behind that the grunt named Rick was starting losing steam though.

"MAKE YOUR SORRY ASS RUN FASTER, WE NEED TO REGROUP!" the woman shouted at her partner. Rick suddenly picked up the pace and soon the two dashed out of sight.

"Where the heck are they heading to?! We can't lose them," Mark said, gritting his teeth. He motioned Alex to run faster with him as they headed off in their direction.

The two grunts sprinted towards a group of people waiting by a campfire at the northern edge of town. When they saw the two grunts, one of them jumped up with anticipation.

"Rick! Aldith! How the hell did it take you this long to catch a single Munna?" one of them said.

"Cram it," Aldith snarled, "we've got another problem on our hands than that stupid Munna."

"But that Munna was the entire point of us being here! What else could be happening that's more impor-whoa!" a sitting grunt was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Alex and Mark. The whole group was alerted by their presence and immediately stood and grabbed for their Poke balls.

"There are more of them?!" Mark groaned at the sight of white tunics lined up in a row. "Oh great."

"So you guys didn't even catch the Munna because of these kids?" One of the grunts groaned.

"Seriously, we waited here for hours because you two said you could take care of it."

"Tsk, should've known something went wrong when you guys took forever," a third chimed in.

"Can't believe we have to clean up your mess."

"Shut up," Aldith said lowly at her teammates with their complaints. "I'm radioing for help. Get rid of them or else you'll regret ever having a _tongue_!"

"Yes ma'am," the four grunts responded immediately, realizing that they had all crossed the line.

"Patrat 1, you're up!"

"Patrat 2!"

"Patrat 3!"

"Patrat 4!"

Each of the grunts sent out a Patrat, each of them with their respective number presented on their chests; all four glared at Mark and Alex with their intense red and yellow eyes.

"Oh great, a whole army of chipmunk with numbers painted on them and the most creative names ever," Mark complained. "Well, good thing we got a Ghost type with us. Halloween, Flame Burst!"

"Detect!" Patrat 3 had a twinkle in its eye before immediately dodging the fire attack the Chandelure sent out.

"Bite!" Patrat 1, 2, and 4 ganged up on the ghost Pokémon and bit it in quick succession, the Chandelure immediately screeched in pain from the attack.

"Damn it! Halloween, shrug them off and use Energy Ball!"

"Detect!" One of the Patrat (Mark was losing track which one at this point despite their numbers) used the same technique to telegraph Halloween's attack.

"Do it on a different one!" Halloween kept trying to attack the group of Patrats, each of them using the same Detect maneuver each time to avoid damage.

"They're clever," Alex said, watching the battle. "This is an annoying team strategy."

"What do you mean?" Mark asked. Mark noticed earlier that Alex was a bit too calm in this battle. The look in his eyes was Mark couldn't quite understand. Unlike him, Alex hadn't send out a single Pokémon and was only observing, but after seeing what little of the battle had started. Alex seemed to figure out the opponent's battle plan.

"None of these Patrats should be any trouble to your Chandelure, despite its weakness."

"Well yeah, Halloween shouldn't go down to a bunch of chipmunks."

"Each of those Patrats knows Detect. As long as one of them uses it when your Pokémon attacks, the other three Patrat can make a counterattack. It's a slow process, but it works."

Mark was silent for a moment before he turned back to the battle, finally realizing the method.

"And not to mention Patrats have a good sense of night vision," Alex added, "so fighting in the dark is no problem for them.

"But something is bugging me… This sort of strategy fails if there is a stronger Pokémon to take advantage of the distractions. I think they're stalling for something."

"So we're going to need to change tactics and fast," Mark muttered. Alex was right about the enemy's strategy; his Chandelure had yet to land a single attack.

"Yes, we'll need to use teamwork on this one; we need to break their rhythm. Detect will usually fail the more times they use it in succession."

"So that's when we strike," Mark paused for a moment before smiling, "I think I have the perfect Pokémon to take care of this."

"Great, I'll distract them. Make sure you always strike the Patrat that uses Detect. Oshawott! Water Gun!" Alex threw out his Poke ball to reveal the little blue otter.

"Oshawott!" The jet of water aimed at the nearest enemy's Pokémon.

"Detect!" The water attack was dodged, but before the other three Patrat could pile on Alex's Oshawatt.

"Halloween, Flame Burst!"

"Lureeeee!" A ball of purple fire came bursting out from the ghost Pokémon's body.

"Detect!" One of the other three Patrat managed to telegraph the attack, but what the Plasma grunt didn't realize was the attack was only directed at the Patrat using Detect. The attack had spread out enough that it also hit the adjacent Pokémon near it.

"Patrat 3!"

"Patrat 4!" The Flame Burst knocked the two Patrats back at their grunt trainers. The flung pokémon knocked them both onto the ground as well. The Patrats slowly got back on their feet, however.

"Oshawott, Razor Shell!" Oshawott's scalchop emitted a bright blue aura in the shape of a blade. The otter Pokémon rushed towards one of the distracted Patrat and slammed its scalchop at the back of the Patrat's head, knocking it out in one hit.

"NOOO! Patrat 2!" One of the grunts cried.

_Okay, only three of them left_, Mark thought. Alex's strategy was working, but if he was right about them purposely stalling, then he will need to have a Pokémon fast enough to wear them down.

"Oshawott!" The little Pokémon squealed with delight until it tripped over its rudder-like tail, dropping the scalchop in the process.

"The idiot did it! Patrat 1! Take down that Oshawott!"

"Oshawott, get out of there!" Alex yelled as Patrat 1 tried to avenge its fallen comrade.

"Dyna! You're up!" A Crobat was released from Mark's Poke ball and swooped across the night sky. "Cross Poison! Over and over!"

"Patrat 1! Detect!" Dyna was so fast that the Patrat had barely read her attack. Dyna swerved directions in the air and repeated its attack over and over, forcing Patrat to use Detect over and over until it slipped up. With its wings glowing an even brighter purple, the Crobat slashed the Patrat with heavy force, leaving behind an X afterimage.

"Detect's not so reliable if you keep using it, don't you know," Mark said, proud that his plan worked, though it only worked because they put too much faith in Detect to begin with.

"What?!" The grunt was baffled at the situation. The strategy the four of them used was supposed to be foolproof, yet these two trainers were exploiting every crack in their defense. Patrat 1, now poisoned, was cringing in pain.

"I'm not done yet! Halloween, Flamethrower!"

"Quick use-!"

"Razor Shell!" Managing to grab its scalchop back and due to its close proximity, Oshawott managed to catch Patrat 1 off-guard, causing it to finally faint. Anticipating this, Halloween sharply switched its sights on Patrat 3, taking it by surprise. The purple flamethrower hit the rodent dead on, propelling it into a tree. The combination of hits caused it to faint instantly.

_And then there was one_, Mark thought. Their opponents' team had crumbled down to one Patrat. The little Pokémon didn't seem as confident as it did before. It was slowly backing away from Alex and Mark's Pokémon, not having the will to continue to battle. Oshawott smirked and puffed out its chest proudly; clearly thinking it was the sole leader of the operation, key to their victory. The Chandelure giggled in rather sinister way, pleased with its payback. On the other hand, Dyna was silently salivating at the prospect of tasting Patrat blood.

"Damn, who are these kids?"

"You idiots!" Aldith screamed in fury. She had finished calling for help and saw that her fellow teammates had lost. "You were supposed to be the top grunts in this sector! What is the matter with you?!"

"This is coming from the one who couldn't defeat them either."

"Shut up! Forget about stalling, just defeat them!"

"These kids ain't amateurs, especially the skittish guy," the man pointed to Mark whom, despite the insult, felt a sense of pride from being acknowledged for his skill.

The woman stared at Mark and remembered something. Of course, they don't need to defeat them both. As long as they can get rid of one of them, they can still win this. That and she still had a score to settle with that brat for making them lose the Munna. "Use Plan Nightmare. Now."

"Isn't that a bit too much?" The woman glared at the grunt for questioning her.

"All right, you're the boss," the grunt quickly replied. He took out two Poke balls. "Liepard Alpha! Liepard Beta!" Two elegant purple cats appeared before the two trainers. They hissed ferociously as they glared at their opponents. Oshawott's confidence faltered almost instantly as it stumbled backward in fear. A huge silence filled the air, with Alex and Mark comprehending the new situation at hand. Or at least Alex was, Mark on the other hand…

_Oh no…_

"Cat! Cat! **_CATTTTT_**!" Mark screamed, panicking at the sight of the Pokémon. Dyna and Halloween were visibly disappointed at this display.

"Oh ho! An ailurophobe! Now that is a first."

"Oh no, oh no, **oh no**, **_oh no_**," Mark repeated, shaking uncontrollably with his head ducked into his knees.

"Mark," Alex reached for his friend, but suddenly, Mark bolted, running for his life, in the opposite direction. "MARK! GET BACK HERE!"

"**_AAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGH_**!" Dyna flew after the fleeing Mark. As usual, he was acting too irrational when it came to any form of cats, and it was Dyna's mission to feed on him when he was this vulnera— to bring him back.

"Oh hoo, _wow_," the man said, a bit taken aback at the situation, "Plan Nightmare never worked THAT well before. Liepard Alpha, Liepard Beta, get a Shadow Claw in that Chandelure!" The two cat Pokémon's claws were embedded with a dark aura. With quick dexterity they launched themselves at the Chandelure, slashing the ghost Pokémon that was unable to react fast enough at the sudden attacks.

"LURRREEEE!"

"Halloween!" Alex panicked as the Chandelure screeched in pain and fainted from the attacks. He quickly rushed over to the Pokémon to check for injuries.

_Damn it!_ As much as Alex trusted Oshawott, there was no way they could win against the two Pokémon. Mark was the one with the more experienced and stronger Pokémon. Without him here for support, there was no way Alex win. He glanced at Aldith, who smirked at him smugly. She knew, she had figured out Mark's phobia and with him gone; the advantage Alex had was gone. There was no way he could win with just Oshawott.

_You still have another…_ a voice rang in Alex's head. He looked down at his bag and realized that this was true. His Braviary. The bird was definitely strong enough to defeat the two Liepards.

But… the last time he had Braviary out; it didn't obey him and went on a dangerous rampage. No… Alex couldn't risk that again, he hastily pushed that idea out of his mind. He will have to settle with Oshawott and try to hold off long enough for Crobat to bring Mark back. Though trying to get him back to something remotely coherent was an entirely different question.

"Oshawott, hold them off as long as you can! Razor Shell!" Oshawott gave it another go with the attack. But the Liepards merely dodged the move by evading in the tall grass.

Fighting in the dark was much more difficult than Alex had anticipated. What little moonlight they had left long shadows against the tall and thick grass, and the two Liepard were taking advantage of this.

"Liepard Alpha, Fury Swipes!"

"Block it!" Unable to spot the direction of the attack until the very last moment, Oshawott used its scalchop to block the attack, but the force from the larger, stronger Pokémon knocked it backwards, causing the scalchop to fly out of Oshawott's hand.

_Oh no! Not again!_

"Both of you! Fury Swipes again!"

"Oshawott!" Swiftly, the two Pokémon raked their claws onto Oshawott with such ferocity and the poor Pokémon squealed in pain before falling to the ground. "No! Get up!" The little Pokémon struggled hard but Alex could tell it was shaking from pain.

"Sorry kid. But it is over. Liepard Alpha! Shadow Ball!"

"Oshawott! Return!" Alex grabbed out his Pokémon's Poke ball and managed to get his Pokémon back safely. However, Liepard didn't stop performing its attack; instead it aimed the Shadow Ball at Alex.

The trainer barely had time to run away before the orb of spectral energy collided against the ground with enough force to trip him. As he stumbled onto the ground, Alex found himself staring at the starry sky.

Alex couldn't come up with a plan. Mark was still wasn't here and his Oshawott was unable to continue fighting. What was he going to do now?

Suddenly, a bright source of light flashed above and Alex winced as he shielded his eyes.

"M…Mark?"

"Alex," a female voice replied back, "what's going on here?"

"Cheren? Bianca?" Alex was slowly helped up to his feet; he was completely shocked they were here. "What are you doing here?"

**Author's Notes**

Those two battles were a pain in the butt. Note to self, don't go biting off more than you can chew when trying to write so much. Also, I changed the rating of this story to 'T', just to be safe.

And we get to see Mark more in action. He is a fun character to write. Granted, I wouldn't count on him in a battle against cats.

And in other news, has anyone seen the new Megaevolutions for Lopunny, Altaria, Salamence, Slowbro, etc.? I'm kind of depressed that my Ninetails is still not on the list though. Sigh.

And finally, I've written a one-shot based on FR/LG game called **A Red Leaf**. Check it out if you have a chance and I would love some feedback.

Thanks for reading and I'll hopefully see you soon in the next chapter!

**-JapanDreamer**

14


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